Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was left disappointed after failing to qualify in the top five for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The RB-21 looked poor throughout all three practice sessions.
The team has managed to get the car operating at a high level seemingly out of nowhere, but in Hungary, there was no magic left.
Verstappen himself has carried the car up the grid and outperformed expectations, but he also couldn’t muster much in terms of pace.
After showing dismal pace in the car, the four-time champion was happy just to make it to Q3.
“Looking at the whole weekend, I think we are happy to be in Q3. Because I’ve been more outside of the top 10 than in,” the Dutchman told the media.
“It’s been difficult this whole weekend. No grip, front and rear. It was the same in qualifying. For me, it was not really a shock. I just drove to what I already feel the whole weekend.
“I think we still qualified very close to pole. Within a few hundredths. I think we were a lot more competitive back then. This weekend, already from lap one, it just felt off.
“We threw the car around a lot. Nothing really gave a direction. That, of course, is the biggest problem. Normally, when you change a lot on the side of it, it will always give you positives or negatives.
“Now, nothing works. It’s like going around in circles. Nothing gives you any kind of idea of what to do.”
Red Bull and Verstappen are almost out of contention for a title this season, making the rest of the season about trying to spring surprise results.
On pace and merit, Red Bull can’t match the McLaren cars and are behind the Ferrari and Mercedes at most tracks.
P8 is still a solid result for the team, especially considering Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda finished in P16.
If the team can find performance for the race on Sunday, a climb up the grid could be on the cards.
Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
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