‘It was again very difficult’ – Max Verstappen reacts to Q2 exit for Japanese Grand Prix as he reflects on Red Bull car’s ‘bigger problems’

Max Verstappen admits that trying to tame his Red Bull car in Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix “was again very difficult”, having been eliminated in Q2.

The Dutchman has dominated at the Suzuka Circuit in recent years, taking pole position and the Grand Prix victory at the last four editions of the race.

But the four-time World Champion will start only P11 for Sunday’s 53-lap race having failed to reach the final segment of Qualifying, missing out by nearly two-tenths to Racing Bulls rookie, Arvid Lindblad.

Verstappen was also beaten by Red Bull team mate Isack Hadjar and found himself 1.2s behind the best time set by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

It continues a difficult start to the season for Verstappen, having failed to score points in either the China Sprint or Chinese Grand Prix last time out, which included retiring in the latter due to a technical issue.

The four-time World Champion has also only qalified as high as eighth this season, which came in China, with a best result of sixth in the season opener.

“Yeah not good,” said Verstappen in the media pen afterwards. “We thought we fixed a little bit in FP3 but then going into Qualifying it was again very difficult.

“Just sliding a lot but also at the same time not having the rotation mid-corner everywhere, so that makes it quite a complicated balance. It’s not ideal around here.”

Verstappen was asked whether trying lots of different setups and car variations would possibly unlock a significant step forward, an approach Red Bull implemented last season with gradual success.

But Verstappen was quick to point out that this year’s car under the new regulations was proving a much bigger problem than it’s predecessor.

“Yeah but I think we have bigger problems that what we had last year. Some parts of the car at the moment are not working how we want them to work.”