Max Verstappen slams bizarre Red Bull fault after disappointing Canadian Grand Prix qualifying

Max Verstappen has revealed the reason behind a tough day at the Canadian Grand Prix, citing a bizarre Red Bull fault.

The four-time Formula 1 Championship winner still start Saturday’s Sprint race in Montreal from seventh on the grid, after enduring a disappointing qualifying session.

The 28-year-old appeared to be a pole contender after ending the session’s first part in third place, but failed to seize the opportunity in SQ2 and fell slower.

Silver Arrows team-mates George Russell and Kimi Antonelli clashed over Sprint pole, with the former prevailing and turning the tables on the hot-in-form Italian.

In the qualifying session’s third part, the Dutch driver netted himself a seventh-placed grid position, falling half a second behind eventual pole-sitter Russell’s best time.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri followed in third and fourth, and Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to fifth-position.

Verstappen confessed that he wasn’t surprised about the result, citing a bizarre Red Bull issue as the reason behind the day’s disappointing events.

‘My feet were flying off the pedals’, reveals Verstappen

Speaking shortly after the session, Verstappen revealed that his feet failed to stay on the pedals, after flying off during parts of the sessions.

The four-time F1 champion said: “My feeling in the car was not very good. I was struggling a lot with just the ride of the car, so all the bumps… I couldn’t put my foot down.

“Actually, my feet were even flying off the pedals, so yeah, it just made it very difficult to be consistent. And that’s something that we need to investigate,” he continued.

The cars are in parc ferme conditions for the Sprint race, meaning there’s no recourse for Red Bull to make changes and improve Verstappen’s driving experience.

The Dutch driver also confessed that there had been no notable advancements made for Red Bull between practice and today’s Sprint qualifying.

“We are stuck with [the fault] for the Sprint,” said the 28-year-old. “But [there are] some other things to understand, and hopefully that will be a bit better for quali.”

Verstappen’s younger Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar, who was disqualified for a similarly bizarre Red Bull fault during the Miami Grand Prix qualifying session, locked out the fourth row by finishing in eighth.

On whether Red Bull will make strides regarding the car’s setup between the Sprint race and the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying session, when rules next allow for the vehicle to be worked on, the Dutchman shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” said a disappointed Verstappen, who endured a return to poor form after failing to put his Red Bull higher than the fourth row during 2026’s first three qualifying sessions prior to the Miami Grand Prix.