Red Bull’s Max Verstappen expressed his frustration after another P6 Qualifying at the F1 2026 Italian GP. Still, he was bumped up to P5 after Piastri received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lawson during Q2.
Qualifying was off to a promising start for Verstappen as he finished P2 in Q1 with a lap time of 1:22.631. However, the Dutchman fell to P6 by Q2, and he remained there for the final session. Verstappen qualified with a lap time of 1:22.070 in Q3, which put him behind Hamilton in P5 and ahead of Antonelli, who will start from the back after switching his PU.
The four-time world champion spoke about how he had felt “good” in FP3, but things turned sour in the first competitive session. After receiving a penalty for impeding, Piastri is set to start P6, bumping car #3 up to P5 for the Italian GP on Sunday.
Verstappen on FP3: “The car was in a much better window”
The Dutch driver had finished P3 in the final free practice session earlier on Saturday. Verstappen had lent his car to rookie Ayumu Iwasa during FP1 and struggled in P9 for FP2. Surprisingly, he felt much more comfortable with this RB22 for FP3.
“Yeah, I mean, FP3 actually, we had a very good improvement overnight, the car was in a much better window.
“But then… yeah. We didn’t really touch the car too much going into qualifying, and suddenly, yeah… I have a feeling that something failed on the rear axle again, not the wing, but something else mechanically, which we have to look into again.
“But it’s not the first time this happens, but it happens at random times on the weekend,” he noted. “Unfortunately now it happened at the most important part.”
When asked if those issues were why he got out of the car during Qualifying 1, Verstappen answered: “No. Because I had 16 minutes or something, so I just stretched my legs a little bit.”
Verstappen discusses Lawson’s performance in Qualifying
Red Bull had hoped for Liam Lawson to tow Verstappen during Q3. However, the New Zealander, who is replacing Hadjar for a second race due to an injury, was not able to reach the last session. Lawson was blocked by Piastri in Q2 and finally qualified P14.
On this, Verstappen said: “He got blocked in Turn 2, so it’s a bit unfortunate that that happened. But in my first lap I was still in the tow of others, so that was alright.”
Verstappen: “So many things going wrong”
The Red Bull champion insisted on the issues the car continues to face during the F1 2026 season. “When you have these kinds of problems, it becomes super difficult to drive.”
He explained: “The car is not complying anymore when it should be on bumps and kerbs. And that’s just costing lap time, unfortunately.”
Once again, Verstappen pointed out the gap as he compared the session to FP3. “Because I actually thought that, with how the car was responding in FP3, I didn’t think I was fighting for pole, but it was quite a comfortable car to drive for once. That was actually really nice, but unfortunately we picked up another problem in Quali.”
Even when asked about traction being tricky, he stated: “Traction in FP3 was good, just qualifying. I mean, for sure we’ll find something again after now. Hopefully we can change that.”
He was also asked if he had tried to get behind Antonelli for a tow and split the Mercedes cars as they lined up for the last runs in Q3.
“Yeah, but I was trying to accelerate and then the engine cut out,” said Verstappen.“So many things going wrong, it’s super complicated.”
On the issues the team is facing, Verstappen warned: “I think the mechanics are very good. It’s just some components on the car I think we are not fully on top of.”
And clarified they are not related to changes made to reduce weight. “No, because I’ve had these problems also on the old car.”
Verstappen’s outlook for F1 2026 Italian GP
When asked about if the problems would affect the car during the race, Max Verstappen remained cautelous. “Yeah, let’s see.”
The four-time world champion concluded: “I just want to have a car that is in a 100% state.”
He further explained: “That would be nice, because we have too many weekends where things just go wrong. You know, the stuff either breaks or we’re not operating at 100%.
“I was very happy with FP3. I think the team did a great job in terms of finding a much better balance in the car finally, but then we couldn’t translate that to qualifying.”
On whether Monza would create some yo-yo chaos, Verstappen predicted: “I mean, maybe a little bit in the beginning, because it’s naturally a little bit easier to follow with these cars. And now slipstreaming around here is big, because you’re so slow and straight. You might see a little bit, but on the other hand you’re very limited with energy, so you might pass and then get re-passed.
“Let’s see, I hope that it’s not too slow.”
About the role towing will play as someone tries to get away, he added: “I think it will help, but I think you can only break the tow with just better pace.”
He also joked when asked about the car’s low speed: “From what I’ve just explained, not very good.”
Thoughts on Gasly’s maiden pole
Verstappen finally reflected on Alpine’s performance during Qualifying and the surprising pole achieved by Pierre Gasly. “Well, yeah, he was on pole; I never expected that. Amazing lap from Pierre and good to see. It’s a good surprise for Formula 1 as well.”
On the Frenchman’s chances for the race in Monza, Verstappen declared: “I don’t know, let’s find out tomorrow. I mean, when you put it on pole, for sure you have good pace, but can you maintain that in the race? I don’t know.”
