Max Verstappen experienced very difficult qualifying in Canada and says he does not understand the problems with his Red Bull, completely lacking in top speed in Montreal.
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Max Verstappen had a particularly difficult qualifying session at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix. Only sixth on the grid in Montreal, the Red Bull driver appeared extremely tense on the radio throughout the session, sending multiple alarming messages to his team.
The four-time world champion never seemed confident on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, despite the progress seen during the previous weekend in Miami. This time, Verstappen quickly felt that something was wrong with his RB22, especially on the straights where he felt he was losing a lot of time.
Several times during the session, the Dutchman let his anger out on the radio. “Hey, what’s going on with this top speed? It’s completely messed up” he notably said to his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. A message quickly followed by an even more worrying intervention: “There is really something wrong. It’s impossible. What’s going on here?”
A suddenly unrecognizable Red Bull
The contrast is particularly striking compared to Miami, where Verstappen seemed much more comfortable with his car after the arrival of new upgrades. At that time, the Red Bull even showed one of the best top speeds on the grid.
But in Montreal, everything seems to have disappeared. Verstappen explained after the session that he absolutely did not understand the behavior of his car.
“I don’t know, honestly. I have no idea what’s going on” he confided after qualifying.
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The Red Bull driver also points to the setup changes made before qualifying, which would have further complicated the behavior of his car.
“Everything is very confusing. The setup change we made, I didn’t like it either. It was very difficult, very confusing, simply.”
Red Bull under pressure before an already uncertain race
This sixth place puts Verstappen in a delicate position before a race that could be contested under very unstable weather. Forecasts predict heavy rain and particularly low temperatures, conditions that could completely reshuffle the cards.
Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing also sees Isack Hadjar dangerously closing in on Verstappen in pure performance. The Frenchman qualified just behind him in seventh position after another very solid weekend.
Asked about the difficulty of driving this RB22 compared to previous Red Bulls he has known, Verstappen did not try to hide his dismay: “It’s not just difficult. Everything is confusing. I really have no words.”
A few hours before the start of the Grand Prix, Red Bull therefore faces many technical questions, while Mercedes and McLaren seem to have taken a clear lead in pure pace in Montreal.
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