There is nothing wrong with Max Verstappen other than ‘life’ itself. That was the great champion’s crestfallen verdict, casting doubt over his future after qualifying a dismal 11th for the Japanese Grand Prix.
He is ‘beyond frustrated’. ‘Fun’ has gone out of him, and ‘motivation’ too. Did we really hear him starting to untether himself from Formula One itself?
It is too early to say that. This is the sport he loves, but he is mighty down, lower than at any point in a career that has yielded four world titles, riches and status.
Where his despondency will lead is still anyone’s guess. A salary of £80million a year signed to Red Bull until the end of 2028 will also play a part in his decision process, no doubt. Yet he is also ever keener to pursue openings in other series and competed in a four-hour endurance race at the Nurburgring last weekend.
As Kimi Antonelli beat his Mercedes team-mate George Russell to pole at Suzuka, Verstappen was almost resigned to his woes.
As if on a psychologist’s couch – not somewhere you would expect to find the robust and combative Dutchman – he was bluntly honest, saying: ‘I am not even frustrated anymore. I am beyond that. I don’t know the right word in English for it. I don’t know it in Dutch either. I don’t know what to make of it.
Max Verstappen gave a crestfallen verdict after finishing 11th in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix
‘There is no word. I don’t get upset about it. I don’t get frustrated with what is going on anymore.
‘There are a lot of things for me personally to figure out.’
‘What?’ he was asked.
‘Life.’
Could he elaborate?
‘Life here.’ (In F1 presumably.)
Part of the problem lies in the new regulations and a shift away from authentic racing to a gimmicky show using half-electric engines. There are boost buttons and sudden shifts of pace – and eye-catching, though cheapened, overtakes as a result. He does not get it.
It is complex and involves lifting and coasting rather than visceral foot-to-the-floor racing in the traditional style.
There are also the problems of his Red Bull. Mercedes, as they showed in qualifying, are up the road. His team are fourth best, if that. Highlighting their predicament, Verstappen finished sixth in Melbourne’s opening race and retired from the last round in Shanghai.
Verstappen admitted he his ‘beyond frustrated’ and bemoaned a lack of ‘fun’ as he continued to criticise new F1 regulations
On Saturday, his team-mate Isack Hadjar qualified above him, in eighth, and that hardly salved his mood. ‘If it’s not fun, your motivation goes,’ he reasoned. And these travails come a few days after he expelled a journalist from his press briefing. Things are getting frayed for a perfectionist used to winning – and used to loving Formula One racing in its purest form.
He added: ‘I enjoy working with everyone. They are trying their best. And it is just not nice for me. But that has nothing to do with the people in the team because I know they work hard and give everything to provide me with the best opportunity. ‘
He addressed the question of possible changes to the regulations to rein in their more extreme elements of distortion, exemplified by video footage showing him taking the famous 130R left-hander here, well, if not as slow as a milk float, close to it – the effects of the battery and its need to be recharged during each lap.
‘They are trying their best to sort out the worst bits,’ he said of F1’s regulators. But it is political and I fully understand that. I am not bitter about being in the position I am in – seventh, 11th or 12th – I just hope it will be more fun to drive (next season). This year will be only tiny changes that don’t make a big difference.
‘People are not trying to shut me up. I say what I think about the situation because I care about the sport. At the moment, it is just not really a nice situation. We move on and keep trying.’
In other news, Russell missed out on pole after a challenging afternoon, sending a sequence of distressed messages to the pit wall, telling them to ‘look at everything’ to rectify his handling problems.
So Antonelli took a second successive pole after his career first in Shanghai last weekend at 19 years 202 days, converting his sure-footed afternoon’s work by a yawning 0.298sec gap to Russell, who holds a four-point advantage over his team-mate in the early championship table.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start third, a tonic for the Australian because he has not taken any part in either of the two opening grands prix – crashing out on his way to the start in Melbourne and spiked by a technical glitch in Shanghai.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth best and defending world champion Lando Norris fifth – green shoots at McLaren. Lewis Hamilton was sixth quickest on the Suzuka track where he has won on four occasions.
Verstappen would swap places with all of the above. But can he find a solution to his problems today? Tune in early to find out.
