Max Verstappen admitted that he felt “disappointed” after being beaten by McLaren in qualifying at the Hungaroring. Verstappen is expected to start Sunday’s Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix in third place on the starting grid behind McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Red Bull enters the race weekend with an upgraded high downforce configuration for the Dutchman’s car.
However, that did not help the three-time F1 champion win his ninth pole position this year, on the contrary it made him feel dissatisfied after the race.

“I’m really disappointed because things are not good enough,” Verstappen told Viaplay. “Personally, I don’t think my lap had much of a problem, but the car was not good enough, too sensitive and too slow. “[The] fact that someone then got in my way in the last corner was annoying, but in the end it didn’t make a big difference. If you’re fast enough, you’ll always be there.”

Verstappen predicts grand prix challenge
Verstappen did not enter the track when the red flag warning of Yuki Tsunoda’s accident was raised at the end of Q3. However, his third place result remained unchallenged.

Looking at the grand prix race, Verstappen believes that McLaren is dominating throughout the race. “McLaren is usually faster throughout the race, so I don’t think we will suddenly be faster during the race,” he said.

“All that team play doesn’t really matter to me. If you’re faster, you’ll pass them, so they can play a team game but it doesn’t matter. “But I don’t feel like we’re faster at the moment anyway, so I’m not really happy about it. I think I’m right because it’s going to be another long season this way.”