Max Verstappen will start Formula 1’s 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix from the pitlane, following his poor qualifying result, Motorsport understands.
Verstappen was shockingly eliminated in Q1 in an unusually poor display from the four-time world champion and his Red Bull team. The latter failed to reach Q2 with any cars for the first time since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda down in 19th.
Having qualified 16th, Verstappen lamented a lack of adhesion that Red Bull can’t come to grips with; the RB21 was especially slow in the downforce-demanding middle sector.
“It’s just no grip,” the Dutchman said. “Changed a few things on the car and it didn’t work, so that’s something that we need to figure out.
“Nothing really seems to work. We change a lot on the car and, yeah, we just don’t understand.
“Something is clearly just not working for us. Even with the changes on the set-up, normally you would feel some kind of reaction, but it doesn’t. So, yeah, something is just really off.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Thompson – Getty Images
Verstappen went as far as switching back to the old floor for qualifying, which was unsuccessful, and will now start the main race from the pitlane as Red Bull makes further tweaks in a bid to alleviate its lack of performance.
Red Bull will use this opportunity to try out a new suspension set-up and fit Verstappen’s car with a full new power unit, bringing his tallies of powertrain components beyond the allowed allocation.
The parc ferme breach means Verstappen will start the race from the pitlane – a lesser consequence for the benefit of a new engine.
A downcast Verstappen said he ‘can forget about the title’ after his early qualifying exit on Saturday, but the decision still aims at salvaging his championship hopes, with his deficit to standings leader Lando Norris up to 39 points following the McLaren driver’s sprint win.
Norris will start the Interlagos race from pole position, while Tsunoda is promoted to 18th on the grid by his team-mate’s pitlane start.
Additional reporting by Ronald Vording and Isa Fernandes
Photos from Sao Paulo GP – Sprint Race & QU
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