Max Verstappen denounced a total lack of feedback from his team during what he called “confusing” qualifying in Montreal, where he finished only sixth.
Max Verstappen experienced a particularly baffling qualifying session at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix. The Dutchman ultimately qualified sixth on the grid, just ahead of his teammate Isack Hadjar, after a performance marked by inconsistent feelings behind the wheel.
Throughout the session, the Red Bull driver alternated between gains in corners and significant losses on the straights, unable to understand the behavior of his car. This instability made his driving difficult to exploit over a full lap.
Issues with feel and an unpredictable car
Verstappen explained that he felt a lack of overall coherence in his car, especially between cornering performance and straight-line speed. The driver indicated that some improvements seemed to work in corners but resulted in degradation elsewhere.
“On every lap, I was gaining in the corners, but losing much more on the straights. It was very strange,” he confided.
This constant feeling of imbalance prevented the Dutchman from finding a stable rhythm in Q3, despite a slightly more competitive final attempt.
The main complaint: a total lack of feedback from the pit wall
Beyond the technical issues, Verstappen mainly pointed out the absence of communication with his team during the session. The driver stated that he repeatedly asked for explanations without receiving a clear response from the Red Bull pit.
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“I asked several times for explanations, but I got nothing back, no feedback. I just kept driving, but it wasn’t enough.”
This supposed silence reinforced his feeling of confusion in an already difficult session to manage, where real-time adjustments seemed impossible.
A situation deemed incomprehensible at Red Bull
Asked about this lack of communication, the Dutchman implied that even his team did not have clear answers about the problems encountered. According to him, the setup directions taken are not producing the expected results.
“They probably don’t know themselves, everything is quite strange. They think this direction works, but clearly, it’s the opposite.”
This new underperformance raises questions about Red Bull’s competitiveness during this Canadian weekend, where the gaps seem particularly tight and difficult to read.
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