A terrible qualifying
Max Verstappen‘s Saturday ended in the worst possible way, with an off-track excursion that put an end to his qualifying already in Q1, without any valid time. The Dutch Red Bull champion doesn’t know what happened: “I braked and the entire rear axle locked up. Nothing like this has ever happened to me.”
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Verstappen destroys the new F1 cars
However, the statements released by Max Verstappen at the end of the session – reported by the Dutch media GPBlog, De Telegraaf and Nu.nl – caused a stir, in which he slammed the new generation of 2026 single-seaters without appeal: “I’m not happy at all. And this has nothing to do with my qualifying, I would have said the same if I had been in front. In terms of emotions and feelings, I am completely empty. It will be a very long year, but I have already prepared myself mentally.”
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Verstappen hasn’t changed his mind since the tests, on the contrary: “They were already really bad in the simulator, to the point that you don’t even want to do it anymore. Everything feels unnatural when I drive. You have to accelerate as little as possible to save battery. You have to take corners differently to save battery on exit. You have to make do with what you have, but you don’t have much. This has very little to do with racing in my opinion.”
The four-time world champion is so disappointed that he can’t wait to drive other cars: “I already know that I will enjoy other races outside of F1 more. In fact, I might even take part in a few more races.”
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