Verstappen reveals ICE failure cost him half a second per lap in Baku qualifying

Max Verstappen has confirmed that a faulty internal combustion engine — not an electrical deployment issue as initially suspected — was responsible for his troubled qualifying session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, leaving him losing at least half a second per lap to team-mate Sergio Pérez.

Speaking to Dutch media in the Baku paddock, Verstappen said the problem was apparent from the very first flying lap of Q1 and deteriorated steadily as qualifying progressed. “Throughout qualifying, already from Q1, I had a problem with the engine, which meant I was losing at least half a second compared to my team-mate. And it only got worse. In Q2 and Q3 it was a complete disaster, so I think we clearly have a problem with the engine.”

The four-time world champion was quick to correct the early narrative that the issue stemmed from the power unit’s electrical side. “No, not on the electrical side. In Q1, we immediately saw a problem. Of course, at that point you still think, ‘What could it be? Is the engine too cold or actually too hot?’ All of that is possible, because it is all very sensitive nowadays. But later it became clear that we really did have a problem with the ICE. It only got worse and in Q3 that engine was no longer working properly at all.”

The combustion engine fault then cascaded into a series of secondary problems that compounded Verstappen’s difficulties throughout the session. With the ICE misfiring and underperforming, the car’s hybrid system became increasingly confused, leaving the battery unable to charge correctly and forcing the energy recovery system into aggressive clipping behaviour.

“The top speed just became less and less,” Verstappen explained. “On that second lap in Q3, my battery wasn’t charging either, but that was obviously because the combustion engine had a problem. That causes a lot of misfires and a lot of other problems, and it confuses the system completely.”

The consequences were visible in onboard footage. Between Turns 15 and 16 — normally a flat-out section — Verstappen’s helmet jolted sharply forward as the car shed speed unexpectedly. “Yeah, because my battery switched off there,” he said. “Because you’re so slow on the straights, you obviously use more battery coming out of the corners to try to compensate for that. As a result, you go into super clipping in some places, and that clip is quite aggressive.”

Verstappen drew a parallel with Honda’s general tendency to clip more frequently than rival power unit suppliers, attributing it to the same underlying dynamic: spending longer at full throttle on straights due to lower straight-line speed forces greater battery consumption, which in turn triggers more aggressive energy management responses.

Despite the severity of the problem, Verstappen confirmed he will not receive a grid penalty should Red Bull opt to replace the engine ahead of the race.