Max Verstappen reveals Red Bull outlook after Japanese Grand Prix struggle
Red Bull is more in the midfield battle, says Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen pressurised Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, but was unable to finish the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of his former Red Bull teammate.
Crossing the line P8, Verstappen admits that Red Bull is more in the “midfield battle” now than the one ahead between Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari. Verstappen said that it was “incredibly tough to feel good” in the RB22 on Sunday at Suzuka, as his “difficulties in the car” from qualifying carried over.
Max Verstappen feels midfield battle is Red Bull reality
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Verstappen failed to make Q3 at the Japanese Grand Prix, but did work his way into the top 10 on Grand Prix Sunday.
His progress stopped at Gasly, though.
Verstappen was able to close down the Alpine in the final stint, but Gasly held firm to claim P7 at the finish line, three tenths up on Verstappen.
“At least my start was a little bit better. I didn’t lose too many positions,” said Verstappen with a smile as he reflected on his Japanese Grand Prix.
“Then got past a few cars, and then, of course, at one point, you hit a ceiling.
“I think with Pierre, we were very closely matched. Maybe on pure pace, we’re a tiny bit faster, but that’s easy to say now.
“It was just very hard to pass. I mean, I could pass, but then I would get repassed straight away, because my battery would be empty. I did try it once, I got by, but then on the main straight you have no battery, so that’s it.
“And then yeah, just try to keep pressure on, hoping for maybe a mistake or deg from the tyres. But that didn’t happen. So we finished really closely.
“I think I did try to maximise with all the difficulties that I had in the car, because what I had yesterday was there also today, so it made it incredibly tough to feel good in the car, to be honest.”
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Having fallen just two points short of what would have been a remarkable 2025 title win, Verstappen and Red Bull have started out in F1 2026 with that winning scene out of reach.
Sixth in Melbourne is Verstappen’s best result across the opening three rounds.
With Verstappen stating that his Red Bull RB22 was only fractionally faster than the Alpine, Verstappen was asked whether this demonstrates how much work Red Bull has ahead to re-join that scene at the front.
“It’s not something negative compared to Alpine, because I think they’re doing a good job,” Verstappen clarified. “It’s just for us, of course, it’s not where we would like to be.
“But at the moment, I feel, of course, we’re a bit more in that midfield battle than up at the front.”
Red Bull will look to regroup over the April break, ahead of a return to action in Miami.
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