Max Verstappen reveals Red Bull ignored his set-up preferences in F1 Canadian GP qualifying

Max Verstappen has revealed that Red Bull ignored his car set-up preferences during qualifying at Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Four-time world champion Verstappen could only manage sixth on the grid for Sunday’s race in Montreal following a challenging qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for his Red Bull team.

Verstappen battled several issues, including a lack of top speed and problems getting his tyres into the right temperature window. After qualifying, he told Dutch media that Red Bull had not listened to his feedback regarding car set-up.

“A lot of things from this qualifying session are very difficult to understand. For example, I have no idea where that final lap suddenly came from,” Verstappen explained.

“Throughout the session I had very little top speed and simply no grip. I don’t know. I didn’t get any information from the team either, so it was clear that we couldn’t solve it during the session.”

Verstappen said the decision to try something different with his RB22 was led by the team.

"We did something different with my car, that’s what the team wanted,” he added.

“Clearly, that doesn’t work the way it should. But sometimes you also have to let the team do their thing and make clear that it doesn’t work. I said, ‘Go ahead, if you think this is going to work, then do it.’ And clearly, it doesn’t work.”

“I’ve pointed it out so many times already, but sometimes you just have to let them feel for themselves that it doesn’t work.

“Of course they listen to me very often, but not this time, because they were convinced that it was going to work.”

A different set-up choice was made on Isack Hadjar’s car, Verstappen confirmed.

“That’s because they wanted to try it with me, that has been the case for years,” he said.

“A driver can also say, ‘Just leave it as it is because it already feels reasonably okay,’ but for me it didn’t feel okay beforehand and it still doesn’t.

“I’m not easily satisfied with a car. I want to fight for victory, not for seventh place.”

On his struggles, Verstappen concluded: “It’s obvious, isn’t it? The whole qualifying session was going nowhere. I always stay reasonably calm about it, but hopefully now they know that it doesn’t work.”

When it was suggested to Verstappen that he would not allow the situation to happen again, he replied: “Yeah, I think that’s pretty clear.”

A clearly frustrated Verstappen also renewed his F1 quit threat if the engine regulations do not change in 2027.