Verstappen calls Red Bull’s Azerbaijan GP Qualifying “not good enough” after P8 grid result

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Max Verstappen left Baku frustrated after Red Bull’s Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix produced a result he described as “not good enough,” with his pole attempt ending with him settling for eighth on the grid. Verstappen had looked strong during Friday’s final practice session, topping the times and beating the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, but the momentum did not carry into Saturday’s Qualifying hour.

Antonelli’s session ended early when he crashed during Q1 and was eliminated, which appeared to set up a direct fight for pole between Verstappen and Russell. However, Verstappen’s Q3 unravelled as he said he was 1.5 seconds adrift, attributing part of the problem to issues he reported in Q1—stating that his engine was running “already half a second down on the straight” compared with his teammate—and to a battery charging problem during Q3.

Verstappen said he had to abort a middle lap because his battery “didn’t charge to 100%,” which he linked to losing tyre temperature at a track where that matters. He added that, while he tried to push on the final lap, he had to deal with a yellow flag caused by Lando Norris “off in front of me,” and concluded: “It’s not good enough.”

Despite acknowledging it would have been difficult to beat Russell’s time, with Russell eight tenths clear of the next best car, Verstappen said the gap should have been smaller when Red Bull had “that many issues.” He added that Red Bull “need[s] to be more robust” and be “on top of these things.”

On the other side of the garage, Isack Hadjar returned to F1 after a three-round absence due to a wrist injury and produced a more encouraging Qualifying, finishing with the fourth fastest time. The French driver said he was “even surprised to be that close from second,” and suggested there is still more performance available as he continues to build across the weekend.