Verstappen hit by bouncing Red Bull in Canada

Max Verstappen said Red Bull’s rear instability and harsh ride left him unable to drive consistently in Canadian Grand Prix sprint qualifying, after the world champion ended up only seventh at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Verstappen narrowly made it through SQ2 before reaching the final shootout, but he never looked comfortable in the RB22 and finished more than half a second slower than polesitter George Russell. The Red Bull driver said the problem was not a surprise given what he had felt from the car through the session.

Speaking after sprint qualifying, Max Verstappen, Red Bull driver and four-time Formula 1 world champion, said: “My feeling in the car was not very good. I was struggling a lot with just the ride of the car, so all over the bumps, I couldn't put my foot down.” He added: “Actually, my feet were even flying off the pedals, just made it very difficult to be consistent and that's something that we need to investigate.”

The issue, according to Verstappen, was an unstable rear end combined with excessive bouncing over Montreal’s bumps and curbs, leaving him without the confidence to attack a lap properly. He said there had been no clear step forward from practice into sprint qualifying, underlining that Red Bull had not found an answer before the competitive sessions began.

That leaves the team in a difficult position for Saturday’s sprint because parc fermé rules prevent major setup changes before the short race. Verstappen made clear Red Bull is effectively committed to the same package for now.

“It was not great,” he said. “We are stuck with that for the Sprint, but there are some other things to understand, and hopefully that will be a bit better for quali.”

For Red Bull, the immediate problem is not just a disappointing grid position but a car Verstappen does not feel able to place consistently, with the team forced to wait until after the sprint for its first real chance to address the underlying cause.