‘It’s just quite poor’ – Verstappen laments ‘terrible’ feeling en route to P6 during Sprint Qualifying in Brazil

Max Verstappen could not hide his frustration after a challenging run to sixth position in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying session at Interlagos, a result that dented his championship bid.

Verstappen arrived at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix having slashed his deficit to the top of the Drivers’ standings from 104 points to 36 across five events, with the aim of further eroding that over 2025’s latest Sprint weekend.

However, he is on the back foot for Saturday’s Sprint race after struggling to make an impression in the first grid-deciding session, where he described his Red Bull as “broken” and “undriveable” over the radio.

Asked if he took a wrong turn with the car after practice, and whether it felt significantly worse, Verstappen said: “No. A lot of vibration in the car, a lot of just ride problems. Not what we want.

“Besides that we just don’t have the grip. The middle sector is terrible, so I just can’t get the car to turn. At the same time, I can’t really rely on the rears.

“Of course, just quite poor, I would say, but it is what it is.”

With title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri lining up first and third tomorrow, Verstappen knows he faces a tough task to limit the damage in the Sprint – even if the weather changes.

In terms of anticipated rain potentially helping him, the Dutchman replied: “I don’t know. We’ll find out, right? I think it’s quite clear that we are lacking something, and I’m not expecting that suddenly to be miles better in the wet. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Verstappen’s team mate, Yuki Tsunoda, will start the Sprint back in 18th position, having endured a troubled first day in Brazil that included a crash during the sole practice session.