Max Verstappen has publicly criticised Red Bull after a series of technical problems left him eighth on the grid for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while McLaren CEO Zak Brown has simultaneously confirmed that the door remains open for a future move by the four-time world champion.
Verstappen had entered qualifying in Baku with genuine hopes of challenging for pole position after Red Bull appeared highly competitive throughout the weekend. He topped final practice and had looked comfortable with the car, but qualifying unravelled as an engine-related loss of top speed, a battery problem and a yellow flag combined to leave him more than 1.5 seconds behind pole-sitter George Russell.
The contrast with teammate Isack Hadjar was particularly striking. Returning to Formula 1 after missing three races with a wrist injury, Hadjar qualified fourth, while Verstappen could manage only eighth.
For Verstappen, the result was not simply a case of being outpaced. He believed a series of problems had prevented Red Bull from converting its competitive pace into a strong qualifying result.
Verstappen: “That’s not good enough”
The first warning sign appeared in Q1, when Verstappen noticed a significant difference in straight-line performance compared with Hadjar.
“Even in Q1, my engine was half a second slower on the straight compared to my teammate,” Verstappen explained. “They [the team] don’t understand why. So I was immediately at a disadvantage.”
Red Bull’s problems then became more complicated in Q3.
Verstappen said the battery failed to recharge fully as he exited the final corner while preparing for his middle attempt. That forced him to abandon the lap, with the resulting loss of tyre temperature creating another disadvantage around the Baku City Circuit.
“When I came out of the last corner, my battery hadn’t recharged to 100 percent, so I had to abort the lap,” he said. “And that kills you here.”
The problem was particularly damaging because tyre temperature is crucial around Baku. With the aborted attempt leaving his tyres below their optimal operating window, Verstappen had to try to recover the situation on his final run.
“I tried to get as much temperature into the tires as possible and pushed hard on the last lap, but having less top speed and then a yellow flag from Lando [Norris] right in front of me means we’re where we are. That’s not good enough,” he said.
The official Formula 1 report similarly recorded Verstappen’s frustration at the combination of reduced top speed, battery issues and the subsequent tyre-temperature problem.
Red Bull’s strong weekend falls apart in qualifying
The timing of the problems made the situation even more frustrating for Verstappen.
Red Bull had looked competitive throughout the weekend. Verstappen had been near the front in practice and topped FP3, raising expectations that he could challenge Russell and Mercedes for pole.
Instead, Russell produced a remarkable 1:42.526 to take pole by 0.837 seconds from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri was third, with Hadjar fourth and Lando Norris fifth. Verstappen’s 1:44.081 was only good enough for eighth.
Verstappen accepted that Russell’s pole time may have been difficult to match, but he believed Red Bull had been capable of significantly more than eighth.
“The whole weekend went well, the car felt good, and then we run into so many problems in qualifying. That’s not good enough,” he said.
His criticism became even more direct when he was asked what Red Bull needed to change.
“When you have so many problems, you don’t deserve to be [at the front]. We need to be more robust and have things more under control,” Verstappen concluded.
That was a particularly pointed assessment from a driver who had looked like one of the main threats to Mercedes only a few hours earlier.
Red Bull’s response will now be closely watched during the race. The team’s pace over a long run remains a different question from its qualifying performance, but Verstappen’s starting position means he has significantly more work to do than had appeared likely after Friday’s sessions.
Hadjar provides Red Bull with a major positive
While Verstappen endured one of his most frustrating qualifying sessions of the season, Hadjar provided Red Bull with a significant positive.
The Frenchman returned to the cockpit after missing the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix because of his wrist injury. He immediately produced his strongest qualifying performance since Australia by taking fourth on the grid.
Hadjar was nevertheless convinced that he could have extracted even more from the car.
“I’m actually even surprised to be that close from second,” he said. “It’s good. Even though I feel like there’s still more to come.”
His result also underlined the unusual nature of Verstappen’s qualifying problems. Hadjar’s fourth-place performance demonstrated that the Red Bull itself possessed the pace to compete near the front.
That makes Verstappen’s technical complaints particularly significant. The issue was not simply that Red Bull lacked outright performance; according to Verstappen, the team failed to deliver that performance consistently when it mattered.
Brown keeps Verstappen’s McLaren door open
Against that backdrop, comments from McLaren CEO Zak Brown have inevitably added another layer to the Verstappen story.
Although Verstappen recently extended his Red Bull contract through 2030, Brown has made clear that McLaren’s interest has not disappeared.
Speaking to De Telegraaf, Brown said: “The door is still wide open for Max. For 2028, 2029, or whatever year it may be. I enjoyed getting to know him better and would very much like to work with him at some point.”
Brown revealed that he had spoken with Verstappen several times during the summer, explaining that the conversations were initially about getting to know the Red Bull driver better.
“Simply because I wanted to get to know him better,” Brown said.
The McLaren CEO also admitted that those conversations changed his perception of Verstappen as a person.
“If I had to use a single word to describe him, it would be one that hadn’t even occurred to me before these conversations: charming. I bet nobody who doesn’t know him well would describe him that way. But I’m really impressed by him. A true racing driver,” Brown said.
For now, there is no immediate vacancy at McLaren. The team remains committed to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for 2027, with both drivers forming a proven partnership for the coming season.
Brown also stressed that he is happy with the current line-up. His conversations with Verstappen were therefore less about an imminent transfer and more about maintaining a relationship that could potentially become important further into the future.
“We carefully explored who we are and got to know each other better. Because you never know what the future holds. But I was much more impressed by him as a person than I expected,” Brown said.
“I thought to myself: I could really race against this guy. Because I hate racing against him.”
Verstappen’s Red Bull future remains the bigger story
Brown’s comments do not change Verstappen’s current contractual position, but the timing is interesting.
The Dutchman remains committed to Red Bull under his extended agreement, yet his latest criticism demonstrates just how high his expectations are of the team. In Baku, Verstappen did not complain simply about being slower than Mercedes. He identified a sequence of technical problems that he believed should have been avoided.
That distinction matters.
A driver can accept being beaten when another team is simply faster. Verstappen’s frustration in Baku came from believing that Red Bull had a car capable of fighting at the front but failed to deliver it consistently when qualifying began.
With Mercedes continuing to set the benchmark and McLaren retaining a long-term interest in Verstappen, the Dutchman’s relationship with Red Bull will remain one of the most closely watched stories in Formula 1.
For now, however, Verstappen has a much more immediate problem: turning an eighth-place starting position into a strong result in a race where overtaking opportunities can emerge quickly.
And after Friday’s qualifying disappointment, the Red Bull driver will have to do much of that work from the middle of the grid.
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