Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was frustrated to encounter a power unit problem that prevented him from qualifying higher than 10th.
The reigning world champion and current championship leader will line up in 10th place for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, after encountering a “power unit-related” problem that prevented him from making a final run in Q3.
Verstappen made a mistake during his first race in the final part of qualifying, which saw him 1.3 seconds off the front runners, after the Red Bull driver ran off course at Turn 2.
Taking to the track for his most decisive second race, he encountered the power issue and despite the best efforts of race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to talk him through a solution, Verstappen found himself powerless both literally and figuratively as he began his final lap. .
Condemned to start in the middle of the field at a track known for its difficulty in overtaking, Verstappen chose to focus on the positives of seeing Red Bull join the fight for pole position after losing pace during Friday’s training.
“I don’t think it’s a big problem, but something we couldn’t solve on the road, basically. It’s very unfortunate,” he told Sky F1 after qualifying.
“I think yesterday’s shift was amazing, I think the guys and girls back at the factory as well, there was a lot of analysis to understand what really wasn’t working so well yesterday.
“In a way, this is positive today. We understood what went wrong and today the car was much better in terms of behavior on a track that didn’t suit us.
“So it’s a big positive for the rest of the year, that we can, even on a track where we’re not that strong, be competitive.
“Of course, I still would have liked to start in the top three and I think we had the pace because, even in Q2, we looked very strong, comfortable. so yes [it was] a good turn”.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner shed some light on the issue Verstappen encountered, which likely won’t have any repercussions for Verstappen in terms of power unit use or penalties going forward .
As a result of the lower-than-expected grid space, Verstappen said Sunday’s race will be about being patient in trying to make progress.
“Unfortunately, the little glitch we had has us starting tenth,” he said.
“It can be hard if you’re stuck, I hope it’s not too long! But we just have to stay calm and wait for our moments to come. We just have to be there and be flexible.”