Max Verstappen has admitted Red Bull “needs more” to rival McLaren’s threat as he rued his car being “on the edge” in qualifying at Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Verstappen looked to have secured provisional pole when he posted a 1:15.555s on his initial Q3 run until Lando Norris crossed the line to go over three-tenths faster.
Oscar Piastri improved on his next lap in the other McLaren to beat Verstappen, who was unable to get back onto the front row despite also bettering his previous run.
The Dutchman, who wound up 0.046s back from Norris, has conceded Red Bull was “too slow” to prevent McLaren from achieving a first front row lockout since 2012.
“Yeah, it was all right, but not good enough,” Verstappen lamented. “I mean, the whole weekend, yeah, just a little bit too slow.
“I mean, we tried to optimise everything, tried quite a few things, actually, with the car, and at the end, still too slow. So, yeah, that’s what it is.”
Red Bull introduced a comprehensive upgrade package this weekend which Verstappen claimed would be pivotal in addressing how the team’s season would evolve.
Verstappen, who is running the revised engine cover minus the Mercedes-inspired ‘cannons’, has proclaimed that the result shows the parts haven’t delivered enough.
Asked what the feeling was like with the updates, Verstappen replied: “I mean, for sure, they work, but we’re still not first, right? So, we need more. It’s as simple as that.
“I think, looking back at my qualifying, I was just very happy with the laps, but, yeah, balance-wise, everything is really on the edge.
“I’m pushing as hard as I can, and then, of course, you have little moments here and there.
“I feel like I probably push harder than I did last year, but, yeah, it’s just not coming anymore, you know, to have these great lap times.
“So, I guess it just means that we are a bit slower, so we have work to do. It’s as simple as that.”
Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez encountered another nightmare showing as his slump continued with a shunt in Q1 resigning him to another premature elimination.
Verstappen has stressed that the RB20 boasting a narrow operating window has been a consistent theme and he is concerned it could be an inherent flaw in the car.
“It’s been like that already for a while, so we are well aware of that,” he added.
“We are pushing as hard as we can, but clearly at the moment it’s still not how we want it to be. We’ll continue to do so, we’ll try to find more performance
“But I’m also well aware that that’s not very easy to find suddenly throughout the season, with things already just planned, and just the way the car is, but we’ll see.
“I mean, there are many races, there are a lot of things that can happen, you know, in qualifying, with conditions, stuff like that.
“So we just need to stay focused and do the best we can every single time, and optimise our performances.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race, Verstappen adopted a pessimistic tone regarding Red Bull’s chances at overhauling McLaren’s starting advantage in the long runs.
Asked how he can beat Norris and Piastri to seize a third consecutive win at the Hungaroring, Verstappen answered: “I don’t know at the moment, but what can I do?
“I mean, we’ll try the very best. Try to have a good, stable balance with the car, and I hope, if I find that, that I can follow them, but I don’t know.
“I mean, honestly, my long runs have been okay, but nothing fantastic or special.
“I think it’s better to be realistic than sitting here and spreading false hope, but, yeah, we’ll see tomorrow. I mean, that’s what it is.”
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