Max Verstappen finished the qualifying session of the Dutch Grand Prix in Formula 1 only in seventh position and acknowledged that Red Bull Racing has not yet found the necessary performance in Zandvoort. The Dutchman highlighted the lack of grip and stated that it will be necessary to adopt a realistic approach in Sunday’s race.
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The team tried different setups throughout the weekend, but according to Verstappen, the changes had little impact on the car’s behavior. The four-time world champion explained that the balance remains limited, especially in the corners, while the lack of grip makes it difficult to extract the maximum from the car.
“We have been a bit limited with the balance, especially in the corners, and it has been difficult to push due to the lack of grip. We simply haven’t been able to put the car in a window with which we are completely satisfied,” said Verstappen, who finished the Sprint race in sixth. For the GP, he believes it will be necessary to manage his own pace and try to find some additional performance.
Liam Lawson, who replaces the injured Isack Hadjar this weekend, had a reasonable result in the qualifying session and will start eighth, just a little over a tenth behind Verstappen. After finishing the Sprint race in 11th, the driver considered his adaptation to the car positive and highlighted the work done by the team: “There is still time to find [performance] and we would like to have a bit more pace from the car for tomorrow’s race,” he said.
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The team principal, Laurent Mekies, confirmed that the main difficulty so far is in the one-lap pace. According to him, the team was more than half a second behind in the Sprint qualifying, and although they managed to improve, they have not yet reached a truly competitive level in the qualifying session.
On the other hand, Mekies sees a more favorable scenario in race pace. The Frenchman said that Red Bull was closer to the rivals in the Sprint and believes that between seven and eight cars can fight for the podium: “We know it is difficult to overtake here, but we will do everything we can to be in the middle of that fight,” he added.
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