Max Verstappen ‘not happy with the car’ as he rues changes that 'made it worse' in Baku qualifying

Max Verstappen lamented Red Bull’s set-up changes for an underwhelming qualifying result at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as team mate Sergio Perez out-qualified him for the first time this season.

Red Bull have recently struggled with balance issues whilst their competitors, most notably McLaren and Ferrari, have gone from strength to strength, leaving the Milton Keynes outfit competing for points outside the podium positions more often than not.

The team seemingly took a step forward in their performance following an imperfect weekend in Monza, with Perez confident that they could fight for pole position after he finished just 0.006s behind Charles Leclerc in FP2.

However, their improvements appeared to diminish in qualifying around Baku – both drivers found themselves near the top of the timesheets throughout the hour, but ultimately were forced to settle for P4 and P6 with the Mexican leading the way.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - SEPTEMBER 14: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit. (Photo by James Sutton/Getty Images) — An error at the final corner prevented Verstappen from putting together a perfect lap

Verstappen outlined the reasons for their slight downturn in performance after the session, explaining that “some changes that we made going into qualifying to improve the car actually made it worse”.

“From the first lap that I did in qualifying I was not happy with the car, and I just tried to drive around it,” he said. “When you’re not confident and comfortable with the car on a street circuit, you cannot push to the limit and I think basically that’s what happened.

“As soon as it matters, people start risking more. I just didn’t feel comfortable to attack because the car was just very difficult, jumping a lot, losing contact patch with the tarmac, so not very nice. Of course, I went off in the last corner which also didn’t help, so all in all quite disappointing.”

The Dutchman’s team mate was similarly disheartened despite producing his best qualifying performance since the Belgian Grand Prix. Perez has historically flourished in Baku and holds the status as the only driver on the grid who has won multiple times at this circuit.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - SEPTEMBER 14: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing talk on the fan stage prior to final practice. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) — The Red Bull duo have not finished on the podium together since the Chinese Grand Prix

“First of all, I’m a bit disappointed because I felt like P2 on a perfect lap should have been possible,” Perez explained. “I had a scrappy sector two where I probably missed a tenth, a tenth and a half. It’s probably the same for everyone though.

“Ferrari were in another league, but I think a further lap would’ve been good. We’ll see tomorrow. We are very different to everyone else so we’ll see what we are able to do come tomorrow and see what we are able to achieve.

FACTS AND STATS: Perez ends 33-race streak of being beaten by Verstappen as he out-qualifies the Dutchman in Baku

“I think definitely on the first stint I should be strong. It will be down to the amount of progress I’m able to make, and then from then on just head down and hopefully we are able to be as strong in the race. That will be very important.”

Red Bull’s issues come at a time when McLaren are closing down on them in the constructors’ standings with the Woking team just eight points adrift of the lead. However, with Lando Norris suffering an early exit in qualifying, Verstappen and Perez have a chance to increase the gap as Oscar Piastri will start as the only McLaren in the top 10.