Verstappen sounds alarm at Red Bull: 'It just has to happen!'

Earlier today, Verstappen surprised friend and foe by taking the pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, narrowly beating the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. However, the Dutchman stresses that the problems woth the RB21 are not yet fixed.

This issue is not new, but according to the four-time world champion, it has been a problem throughout the entire season. "I am very clear in how I think the car should be," Verstappen said to De Telegraaf. He added that the cars of 2022 and 2023 were much easier to drive. "After that, we kind of lost our way."

Verstappen then quipped that it is not up to the driver to find the solution. "It is not up to the drivers to tune the car. We would have studied that if it were." He can only wait for the engineers to come up with something. According to the Dutchman, one thing is certain: steps must now be taken.

When asked if he has confidence in that, he replied: "That's not what matters to me, it just has to happen." Verstappen noted that the weekend in Japan was not going smoothly until the qualifying. The setup for the qualifying was better, but he still found it difficult to extract the maximum from the car in its current state."To then be in first place is incredible."