[Saba Sports News] Max Verstappen qualified seventh for the sprint shootout in Canada, yet his assessment of the car condition turned out far more concerning. In post-session interviews, Verstappen stated his feet were jolted off the pedals during driving, describing the situation as outrageous. The Montreal circuit was deemed suitable for Red Bull machinery. Following upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix, the team had seen a notable upturn in overall competitiveness. Nevertheless, underlying flaws of the RB22 resurfaced once the sprint qualifying got underway.
Verstappen delivered a solid performance in Q1, finishing third merely 0.2 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton and looking poised to challenge for pole position. His pace dropped sharply in Q2 though, slipping to ninth place with a lap time nearly 1.4 seconds slower than the leader. Throughout the session, Verstappen repeatedly complained over team radio about violent car bouncing. After Q3 concluded, he laid bare the severity of the issue. He explained excessive bouncing over kerbs and bumpy sections made it impossible to keep steady pressure on throttle and brake pedals, leaving his feet shaking free from controls. The unstable handling prevented him from setting consistent fast laps.
He ultimately secured seventh on the starting grid, more than half a second adrift of George Russell’s quickest time.
In my opinion, the team’s comeback journey will not follow a steady upward trend. Though Miami upgrades have pulled Red Bull back into the title contention, multiple unresolved car issues remain, and performance can fluctuate drastically across different tracks.