Max Verstappen didn't hold back after a dismal qualifying session at Red Bull Racing’s home Grand Prix in Austria. The four-time world champion, who has consistently been a dominant force in Formula 1, will start Sunday’s race from a disappointing seventh place on the grid — a result that left him visibly frustrated and confused by the performance of his RB21.
A shaky start for Max Verstappen at Red Bull's home track
Heading into the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, expectations were already modest within the Red Bull garage. The RB21 has proven temperamental throughout the 2025 season, but Verstappen described Saturday’s qualifying as particularly baffling and disheartening.
“I think yesterday already was not good,” Verstappen admitted in a post-qualifying media session. “Over one lap, long run, it wasn’t good. And today, FP3, I think, was a little bit more positive. It was still off, but then in qualifying, everything felt bad. Every corner was a struggle.”
Despite managing to escape Q1 — unlike teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who was eliminated early — Max Verstappen’s challenges only intensified as qualifying progressed. In Q3, he could do no better than seventh, a far cry from the pole positions and front-row lockouts Red Bull has grown used to on home soil.
An unbalanced machine
Verstappen was candid about his unease with the car’s handling throughout the session, describing how the RB21 felt unpredictable in nearly every corner.
“I just didn’t have the balance; was either understeer or oversteer,” he said. “Even every single lap that I did, I had a bit of a different behaviour with the car, so yeah, that’s not ideal.”
Adding to the confusion, Max Verstappen noted that the team made only minimal adjustments between the final practice session and qualifying. Despite that, the car’s behavior changed dramatically — and not for the better.
“Just very tiny little changes that shouldn’t influence the car balance,” he explained. “That’s all manageable, but suddenly, with the high track temps and more wind, everything just fell apart. I didn’t expect it to be this bad in qualifying, but I think no one did in the team.”
Heat and wind amplify troubles
The hotter-than-expected track conditions may have played a significant role in Red Bull’s struggles, according to Verstappen. He acknowledged that the RB21 has not responded well to higher temperatures — a trend that has persisted throughout the season.
“The hotter conditions for sure are not that good for our car,” he said. “And so far this year, we’ve never really been more competitive in the race than qualifying as well.”
No blame game — yet
Verstappen was quick to clarify that the issues faced in Austria were not related to earlier-season troubles, nor were they influenced by recent personnel changes on the pit wall or Red Bull’s latest upgrade package.
“These issues are not the same ones that were plaguing the RB21 at the start of the season,” he emphasized. “The swap from Gianpiero Lambiase to Simon Rennie had nothing to do with the performance; and Red Bull’s upgrades package for this weekend can’t be deemed completely responsible for the lack of pace.”
Still, he made it clear that the team has work to do if they’re to recover for the race — though his expectations remain subdued.
“Not to fight up front for sure,” Max Verstappen concluded. “We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
For a team that has often been near-invincible on home turf, Saturday’s qualifying felt like a gut punch. With Verstappen starting on the fourth row and Tsunoda out of Q1, Red Bull will be hoping to uncover answers — and pace — before lights out on Sunday.