Verstappen slates obstacle to Red Bull Brazil success

Max Verstappen was left frustrated by a resurfacing of the iconic Interlagos circuit he feels has made his Red Bull worse to drive.

As part of an ongoing overall revamp of the track to bring it into line with many other F1 venues around the world, it was determined a total resurfacing was required, only for it to backfire.

Many drivers complained throughout practice initially, with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton bemoaning he was in pain due to the ride he was experiencing in his W15, forcing Mercedes to ‘soften’ the car for sprint qualifying.

Verstappen was also far from happy, particularly as he has known all season the RB20 has struggled to ride kerbs and any bumps in a circuit, as was the case in São Paulo.

“Yeah, as soon as we went into qualifying we were definitely off,” said Verstappen, who was fourth quickest behind an all-McLaren front-row spearheaded by Oscar Piastri, meaning the Dutchman will start the race directly behind title rival Lando Norris.

“Our car is a bit difficult on the bumps. They did a resurfacing but they’ve made it worse to drive. It’s extremely bumpy everywhere.

“That’s not good for our car. In the bumpy areas, the car is jumping around a lot, and it’s unfortunately costing me quite a bit of lap time.”

As to how Verstappen feels he will perform in the sprint, he replied: “I don’t know. When you are already quite a bit off over one lap, I don’t think we are particularly the strongest in the race. We’ll have to see how that goes in the sprint.

“Of course, I also know there is some weather around. That can come, but maybe not for the sprint. We’ll have a look.”

It was also confirmed, as the sole practice session started, that Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for the grand prix due to the power unit in his car requiring a new internal combustion engine.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s main race, he said: “With the penalty, I’ve a bit more work to do.”