Max Verstappen said he feels “beyond frustrated” by his miserable start to 2026 after being knocked out of Q2 in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix by Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.
Verstappen was pushed into the elimination zone at the end of the session by rookie Lindblad, who drives for Red Bull’s second team Racing Bulls.
Onboards showed Verstappen struggling to control the car at various points around the Suzuka lap, including through the Esses and again at the Spoon hairpin, which compromises a driver’s speed on the long run down to the 130R corner.
“I think there’s something wrong with the car, mate,” Verstappen told Red Bull as he returned to the pits. “It’s completely undriveable.”
Max Verstappen was knocked out of qualifying in Japan by Arvid Lindblad. Photo by FRANCK ROBICHON / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
He will start Sunday’s race from 11th. The Q2 elimination ended a run of four consecutive pole positions at Suzuka — his memorable 2025 lap, which beat the dominant McLaren drivers, is considered to be one of the best of his illustrious F1 career.
Verstappen was a loss to describe the feeling.
“I’m not even frustrated anymore,” he said on Saturday afternoon. “I’m beyond that, so that’s a bit… I don’t know the right word in English for it. I don’t know what to make of it, to be honest.”
When asked if there was a word for it in Dutch, he replied: “Yeah, I don’t even know … There’s probably no word. There’s no word.
“It’s just… I cannot… I don’t get upset about it. I don’t get disappointed or frustrated by it anymore with what’s going on, so.”
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The four-time world champion has struggled this season.
Two weeks ago in China, Verstappen said every lap driving his Red Bull felt like “survival mode”.
The Dutchman has also been increasingly frustrated by the new generation of F1 car — he has called them “anti-racing” and likened the new reliance on energy harvesting and battery boosting to collecting mushrooms in popular video racing game Mario Kart.
“For sure we’ll fix a few things hopefully in the coming weeks, months,” he added. “The rest you know how I think about a lot of stuff.
“I don’t need to mention it again. So yeah, a lot of stuff also for me personally to figure out.”
