Follow us on Google Discover Max Verstappen suffered his first Q1 exit in 1,504 days after only managing to qualify P16 for the 2025 F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix amid a double Q1 exit for Red Bull in Brazil.
The Milton Keynes natives will start Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP from the rear of the field, as Yuki Tsunoda also only managed to qualify P19 at Interlagos. No driver set a slower lap time in Q1 than the 25-year-old, as Sauber ace Gabriel Bortoleto did not take part after his Sprint crash.
Verstappen could only set a 1:10.403 to miss out on a Q2 place to Sauber’s other driver, Nico Hulkenberg, by just 0.066 seconds. Tsunoda recorded a 1:10.711 as the only driver to pen an effort more than a full second off the overall best 1:09.656 that Lando Norris of McLaren set.
It is the first time that Verstappen has suffered a Q1 exit since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, when the Dutchman did not set a lap time as he was due to start from the back of the grid after an engine change. He went on to finish what remains F1’s last visit to Russia in P2.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty ImagesMartin Brundle felt Max Verstappen’s Red Bull looked wild during qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Verstappen grumbled over Red Bull’s team radio straight after his shock Q1 exit in Brazil that he had “zero” grip during qualifying. The 28-year-old also noted that the set-up tweaks Red Bull made, including fitting a lower downforce rear wing, compromised the ride of his RB21.
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Friday 7th November to Sunday 9th November
Friday 7th November 14:30 1st Practice Friday 7th November 18:30 1st Sprint Qualifying Friday 7th November 18:52 2nd Sprint Qualifying Friday 7th November 19:12 3rd Sprint Qualifying Saturday 8th November 14:00 Sprint Saturday 8th November 18:05 1st Qualifying Saturday 8th November 18:27 2nd Qualifying Saturday 8th November 18:47 3rd Qualifying Sunday 9th November 17:00 Race
It was especially clear that Verstappen’s car was not in the right window for Interlagos when he lost 0.410s through Turn 9 alone after sliding wide. His moment also caught the attention of Martin Brundle, who was stunned to see Verstappen qualify just P16 for the Sao Paulo GP.
“It didn’t look good, did it?” Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (08/11, 18:18). “It was moving around a little bit. But it didn’t look 16th. Wow.”
He added: “That is why when we picked him up, it looked so wide. He had a huge correction on the way in.”
Laurent Mekies admits Red Bull paid the ‘price’ for Max Verstappen’s set-up changes
As well as being the first time since the 2021 Russian GP that Verstappen has not moved into a Q2 session, qualifying for the 2025 Sao Paulo GP is also now the first time since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix that Red Bull have seen both of their drivers bow out in any Q1 session.
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David Coulthard and Robert Doornbos only managed to qualify P17 and P18 with Red Bull at Suzuka 6,971 days ago. Verstappen laid the blame for his surprise early bath at Interlagos at his Red Bull RB21 being “all over the place” and it refusing to let him drive it to its potential.
“It was just bad,” Verstappen told F1 TV after his Q1 exit in Brazil. “I couldn’t push at all. The car was all over the place. I had to underdrive it a lot just to not have a moment, and of course, that doesn’t work in qualifying.
“We need to analyse what is going on, as I don’t understand how it can be this bad.”
Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies also told F1 TV that the team changed Verstappen’s set-up to try to improve his RB21 in qualifying for the Sao Paulo GP. The four-time champion had not been happy with his car all weekend, but the risk of a set-up change did not pay off.
Mekies said: “We’ve been unhappy with the car from the moment we got here, and struggled through Sprint Quali and the Sprint. Nonetheless, we expected to fight near the front. This is sometimes the price you pay if you take the risks.
“We did take some risks, we did change things significantly to the car [and] that is the risk you need to take to put the car in the window to fight for more than this morning. But it went in the opposite direction, and we are where we are. Sometimes, it hurts.”