Verstappen reveals Red Bull ignored his set-up advice before Canadian GP qualifying

Max Verstappen qualified sixth for the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after Red Bull chose a car set-up direction he had explicitly advised against, leaving the four-time world champion struggling with tyre temperatures and top speed throughout Saturday’s session.

Speaking to Dutch media after qualifying, Verstappen was candid about the disconnect between himself and his engineers. “We did something different with my car, that’s what the team wanted. Clearly, that doesn’t work the way it should. But sometimes you also have to let the team do their thing and make clear that it doesn’t work,” he said. “I said, ‘Go ahead, if you think this is going to work, then do it.’ And clearly, it doesn’t work.”

The situation is an unusual one for Verstappen, who typically holds significant influence over Red Bull’s technical decisions. Rather than force the issue, he chose to allow the experiment to run its course. “I’ve pointed it out so many times already, but sometimes you just have to let them feel for themselves that it doesn’t work,” he added.

Over team radio during the session, Verstappen reported an inability to generate tyre temperature and flagged a persistent lack of top speed. He also appeared to derate earlier than most rivals — an anomaly Red Bull had not explained to him by the time he spoke to the press. “I don’t know. I didn’t get any information from the team either, so it was clear that we couldn’t solve it during the session,” he said.

Despite the difficulties, Verstappen acknowledged the unpredictability of his final lap. “A lot of things from this qualifying session are very difficult to understand. For example, I have no idea where that final lap suddenly came from. Throughout the session I had very little top speed and simply no grip.”

What adds further intrigue is that Red Bull did not apply the same set-up philosophy to Isack Hadjar’s car. Verstappen explained the rationale as he understood it: “That’s because they wanted to try it with me — that has been the case for years.” He made clear he had not been comfortable with the direction from the outset and remained unconvinced after the session.

The episode highlights a rare moment of internal disagreement at Red Bull, coming at a point in the season when the team can ill afford to surrender grid positions to its rivals.