Max Verstappen will start tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix from seventh on the grid. The Dutchman struggled during qualifying, particularly with brake issues, and was unable to move further up the order. Pole position went to Oscar Piastri, with George Russell taking second place. Charles Leclerc took third, while Kimi Antonelli will start from fourth. Pierre Gasly completed the top five in Bahrain.

After qualifying, Max summed up the problems he encountered: “We were too slow, the car had poor balance, I could not brake, could not turn in, it would not rotate, no traction. It has been like this all weekend. We changed the entire car around, but nothing worked.”

During qualifying, Max had already voiced his brake issues over the radio. Commenting on that, he said: “You do not get any feeling. Every time you press the pedal, it is like hitting a wall. It just does not stop. Totally inconsistent, but I have been dealing with that all weekend. Actually, all year, but it is even worse at this circuit.”

Both in Q1 and Q2, Max had to abort his first flying lap, leaving it all down to a single attempt. Max: “And if you have got no good feeling, that just makes it even harder.” When asked how he is feeling about tomorrow, Max replied with a laugh: “Right now, not at all. We will see how I feel when I wake up.”