F1 | Verstappen disappointed: “Wrong changes, but I could have been 3rd”

At the end of Friday’s free practice, there was almost a hint of optimism at Red Bull, given that Baku had been the best Friday for the Milton Keynes team in several GPs. However, Saturday told a different story, with Sergio Perez fourth, almost half a second away, while Max Verstappen could not do better than sixth, a good six and a half tenths off the top.

Undoubtedly, the fact that his direct rival for the title, Lando Norris, went out in Q1 is a theme that makes us look forward to Sunday with greater positivity, because on a weekend where his lead in the standings could have diminished further, Max will now have the chance to manage the situation differently.

However, it is clear that this cannot be a reason to look at the three-time world champion’s Saturday as a glass half full, because the third row is not satisfactory. Weighing on the Dutchman’s qualifying are many elements, starting from the setup changes made after the end of FP3, which however did not give the desired result, making the car very unpredictable and more prone to bouncing.

“We have made some improvements to the car compared to the last races. But now with the set-up we have tried to improve some things and unfortunately it went the opposite way. Before qualifying, in fact, we made some changes to the car, but it started to bounce a lot and at that point you lose contact with the asphalt,” explained the Dutchman, who in fact complained about this bouncing effect throughout the official tests, underlining how in some laps it was more marked, while in others it was easier to manage the situation and find the confidence to push.

“It’s always difficult to know what will happen in Q3. But as soon as I went out in Q1, on the first lap, I felt that the car had taken a step back compared to before. We made some changes and the car became incredibly unpredictable, difficult, precisely because of the changes we made. This, of course, disappointed me a little bit, because you always try to optimise things and improve them. Unfortunately we exceeded the limit”, added the three-time world champion, underlining how much this element influenced the course of his qualifying, because on a track where confidence is everything, not having total control of the car weighs negatively.

Even when he managed to set a good time in Q2 that looked like it could put him in contention for a top result in the final heat, Verstappen was actually not happy with the car, but in that instance the RB20 had performed better than in other attempts: “Even when I did a good lap in Q2, I was not happy with the car. From the first lap I knew it was going to be a difficult qualifying regardless. I think my lap in Q2 was good, considering all the problems I had, because I personally was not happy with how the car was behaving. But obviously I tried to do my best.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The other regret is the one related to the error during the first attempt of Q3, the most promising of the two completed during the final heat of qualifying. In fact, the last attempt, the one that earned him sixth place on the starting grid, did not provide great satisfaction, being slower than the previous one already from the first sector. By completing that lap, substantially almost in line with that of Perez, the Dutchman could perhaps have gained a few more positions, with third place almost within reach.

However, the mistake coming out of the last corner completely ruined any hope of being able to capitalise on the good work done in the rest of the lap: “It’s a shame what happened at that point. Maybe I could have fought for second or third place, but I could have improved in the last attempt”.

“But I didn’t have the right feeling with the car, I didn’t feel comfortable because the car was very stiff and when you’re not comfortable, you can’t attack the corners as you would like, that’s what happened,” added Verstappen, who overall was unable to find the key to being effective in the first part of the central sector, the one with many 90°C corners where, in fact, a stiffer set-up doesn’t help in terms of cornering and traction.