Max Verstappen told his father Jos Verstappen that Red Bull’s performance was “just not good enough” as he suffered a bruising Austrian Grand Prix.

Jos said this admission was made to him by Max over the phone, after he was caught up in the yellow flags triggered by Pierre Gasly’s spin, ruining his final Q3 lap and leaving him P7 on the grid. His race did not go beyond the first lap, Max wiped out by the Mercedes driven by Kimi Antonelli.

Max Verstappen ‘just not good enough’ verdict: Cause for Red Bull concern?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

In the opinion of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, without those yellow flags, Max had a chance of putting the Red Bull on the front row.

“He could see the yellow, so of course, he’s done the right thing,” Horner told Sky F1. “He’s reacted to the flag. It takes precedence to the dash.

“It was a great shame. On the predicted time at that corner, he would have done a time that might have squeezed him on the front row. Certainly would have been third.”

But, qualifying belonged to McLaren’s Lando Norris who proved the clear class of the field over one lap, before seeing off a valiant attack from team-mate Oscar Piastri to win the Austrian Grand Prix.

And while Horner felt Verstappen’s qualifying result owed a lot to the yellow flags, what Max apparently told Jos over the phone was a little less optimistic, Max admitting that the pace was “just not good enough”.

Jos is regularly seen in the F1 paddock alongside Max, but did not make the trip to Austria as he was in Ypres Rally action.

Speaking to Race Express, Jos said: “I’ve seen a bit of qualifying.

“I saw the last lap when he got the yellow flags, but it didn’t look fast enough.

“I already heard it on the phone, he said: ‘Yeah, it’s just not good enough.’”

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Last time out in Canada Max made the front row and finished runner-up to Mercedes’ George Russell, and while Jos noted a “different circuit” and “little grip on the track” as contributing factors to a less competitive Austria weekend, he also pointed out that: “Other teams are making progress.

“Ferrari has brought a good update, we know that McLaren are always at the front.

“Mercedes is kind of in between.”

Red Bull introduced a new floor edge for the RB21 in Austria, and after Friday practice, senior advisor Helmut Marko was encouraged by what he saw, Max’s gap to Norris three-tenths at that stage, an unrepresentative deficit to his mind.

“We believe it’s not three tenths. It’s less fuel corrected. But still, we are behind. That’s clear,” he told media including PlanetF1.com at the Red Bull Ring.

“We are a bit nearer to McLaren, but still they are the favourites.”

He added: “It’s not a big step, but the direction gives us hope.”

Jos did not share that sentiment.

“And I think the update that Red Bull brought doesn’t make that much of a difference,” he claimed.

To support his point, Jos put the spotlight on Yuki Tsunoda, who in the second Red Bull, dropped out in Q1 for the third time in five races.

“You can see it in Tsunoda, too; he doesn’t even reach Q2,” said Jos. “So yeah, the speed has fallen from there.”

Race day proved another setback for Max who was the innocent casualty in a crash with Antonelli at Turn 3. With a gap of 61 points between Max and Championship leader Piastri after Austria, Jos concluded with the sobering thought that Max should forget about a fifth straight title.

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