Max Verstappen rued inconsistent balance shifts with the Red Bull making it “difficult to be consistent” as he qualified in fifth for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen had complained about understeer throughout practice, but Red Bull threatened to mount a remarkable turnaround as he claimed provisional pole position.
The Dutchman pipped the McLaren drivers with a 1:22.945s on his opening Q3 lap, despite encountering a moment which saw him almost lose his car at the last turn.
However, Verstappen would not remain atop the timesheets as Lando Norris lowered the benchmark on his second attempt to head a McLaren 1-2 with Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen was unable to respond as he failed to improve on his initial time, demoting him to fifth on the grid as both Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg usurped him.
“I thought at one point [when] I was facing towards the wall, I was like, this can be quite spicy, but, of course, it’s not quick,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“But I think the whole weekend we’ve never found that sweet spot, unfortunately.
“Most of the time people were aborting their laps on new tyres, and every time at the beginning of a session, people behind me, they were on scrub tyres, when I put new tyres on.
“It was okay, but it’s just not how I like it. The car was never really, as I said, planted. It was a bit difficult in some corners, and it made it very difficult to be consistent.”
Verstappen has revealed it was hard to overcome the balance problems that he was experiencing as the corners the RB20 was struggling with changed between laps.
“It happened in a different corner because you tried to adjust one, one or two, and then something else happened in another corner,” he expanded.
He added: “The front end was stronger now, so that was a bit more positive.
“But it’s the balance shift that we get throughout the corner, which in some tracks is a bit more limiting than in others.”
Abu Dhabi exposing Red Bull’s limitations
The reigning F1 champion conceded that the Yas Marina Circuit‘s tight and twisting third sector exposed the inherent limitations that Red Bull harbours in slow speed.
Asked about the improvements Red Bull made compared to practice, Verstappen said: “Yeah, I mean, it did a good job. Sometimes track layouts is a bit difficult.
“I mean, the last year, we had some [issues with] small speed corners, and I think it’s [the same] for most races.
“That’s always been a bit more our weakness. I think we have improvement in that area, but we still have some things to improve.”
Red Bull not in a position to stop McLaren
Verstappen, who has picked up nine wins this season, believes it will nigh on impossible to challenge McLaren tomorrow based on the pace it has shown all weekend.
Questioned on whether he anticipates it being a race that involves tyre management, Verstappen responded: “Yeah, there will be.
“But at the end of the day, you also need a good balance to go with it. So, hopefully, we have that.
“I mean, to really fight McLaren, I think, will be quite unlikely. They’ve been on it the whole weekend again. They’re so comfortably quick with both drivers.
“This time, it’s unlike Qatar, where we nailed it over a lap.
“And in the race, they were still very fast, but we definitely hung in there. This time, I think we’re all a bit further behind.”
Verstappen aiming for podium
However, Verstappen retains hope that Red Bull will be competitive enough in race trim to pressure Sainz’s Ferrari for the last spot on the podium at the season finale.
“I still think that Ferrari is too good,” he previewed. “I hope that I can race maybe with Carlos.
“And now, of course, there’s a spicy battle next to me for P6. So, let’s see how that will go in Lap 1.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris leads McLaren front row lockout for F1 Abu Dhabi GP
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