Max Verstappen delivers ‘quite a bit off’ verdict at start of challenging Brazil GP weekend

Red Bull Racing started off 2024 strong, but its pace has dwindled as the competition is able to find more speed through mid-season updates — and that frustration has carried into Interlagos.

After a difficult sprint qualifying session that will see him start in fourth ahead of the abbreviated race, Max Verstappen isn’t convinced that his RB20 will have the necessary speed to power him to a win at the Brazilian GP.

Max Verstappen says Red Bull “quite a bit off over one lap”

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen stepped out of the car after sprint qualifying having secured a fourth-place starting slot on the grid for the shortened race tomorrow — but with very little hope for a more productive weekend going forward.

“As soon as we went into qualifying, it looked like we were definitely off,” the reigning World Champion told broadcasters after the sprint session.

“A bit difficult on the bumps,” he said of the track surface.

“I mean, they did the resurfacing, but I think they actually made it worse to drive. It’s extremely bumpy everywhere. That’s not good for our cars.

“The car’s jumping around a lot, and this cost me quite a bit of lap time, unfortunately.”

Dig into sprint qualifying for the 2024 Brazil GP:

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While one challenging session doesn’t always sentence a driver to the rear of the field for an entire weekend, Verstappen has argued that there’s little to feel good about going forward.

“For tomorrow, I don’t know,” he said when asked about if he can improve in the sprint race, or in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

“Normally, when you’re already quite a bit off over one lap, I don’t think we are particularly the strongest in the race,” he said.

“We’ll have to see how that goes tomorrow in the sprint. Of course, I also know there is maybe some weather around that can come, but maybe not for the sprint, and then, yeah, for the penalty, I have a bit more work to do.”

Verstappen is referring to the five-place grid penalty he’ll be taking for Sunday’s Grand Prix after replacing power unit components. No matter where he starts, he’ll have that penalty to contend with.

For the once-dominant driver, the 2024 season has been a challenge. Verstappen hasn’t taken a Grand Prix victory since Spain back in late June, and the impressive championship lead he’s amassed so far this year has been slowly whittled away by McLaren’s Lando Norris and, more recently, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Making matters worse, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez has also struggled behind the wheel — and now Red Bull Racing has fallen to third overall in the constructors’ championship.

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