Max Verstappen finds culprit after Azerbaijan GP qualifying ‘falls apart’
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in a press conference at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has revealed that his Red Bull was “down on power” throughout qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
Verstappen qualified a disappointing eighth in Baku on Friday, trailing the pole-sitting Mercedes of George Russell by 1.5 seconds.
Max Verstappen reveals power shortage in Azerbaijan GP qualifying
It came just hours after the four-time world champion topped the final practice session in Azerbaijan, with Verstappen suffering a loss of pace during qualifying.
Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets following Friday’s running, Verstappen revealed that he was dealing with a lack of power all the way through qualifying.
He estimated that the issue cost him 0.5s compared to teammate Isack Hadjar, who qualified fourth.
Verstappen said: “The whole qualifying, we’re down on power.
“I was consistently half a second down to Isack’s car for whatever reason – we don’t know why that happened in qualifying.
“And then in Q3, the middle lap coming out of the last corner, my battery didn’t go to 100 per cent so I had to abort that lap.
“Too cold tyres then because you don’t have the speed, you don’t have the power that you should have.
“And then when I tried on my final lap with no power, the tyres were too cold, then a yellow flag. It is not happening.”
Max Verstappen vs Isack Hadjar: Red Bull head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season
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Asked if he was frustrated by the issue, Verstappen replied: “It’s a shame.
“The whole weekend, we’re doing a good job, I’m happy with the car and then it all just falls apart in qualifying because of problems out of my control.
“But it’s a little bit [of a pattern] this season. It’s a bit too fragile at times.”
Verstappen was left frustrated earlier this year when Red Bull opted against an engine change after qualifying at the British Grand Prix.
Asked about a potential new engine for race day, he added: “Well, they first need to figure out what it is.
“Otherwise, if you have to run with that also tomorrow, it’s not going to be a lot of fun, but let’s see.”
Verstappen also insisted that his lack of power was not related to the mysterious ‘car degradation’ issue he first raised at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
He said: “No, no. We don’t have aero deg at the moment.
“Car bottomed a little bit more compared to FP3. [The wind] wasn’t too bad, to be honest. This track is quite sheltered. It has a lot of corners. Maybe in [Turn] 16 you feel it. It’s a bit more tricky, but it wasn’t too crazy.”
Asked about his prospects of progressing through the field on race day, he replied: “I will try.
“There are a few cars maybe ahead of me that I can pass, and then we’ll see.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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