Max Verstappen crashed heavily into the barriers during the final segment of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday, June 27, 2026.
The incident forced him to settle for fifth place on Sunday's starting grid behind George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Antonelli.
Verstappen Unable to Explain Loss of Control
The accident occurred at the high-speed Turn 9 as Verstappen was pushing the upgraded Red Bull RB22. He was left unable to explain the sudden loss of control.
“It was all good. It’s just always awkward to crash sideways.
It’s never the nicest way of crashing in an F1 car,” said Verstappen when asked about his physical condition after the impact.
The Dutch driver indicated that his initial sectors were competitive. However, he noted that matching the final sector performance of the Mercedes cars was a difficult task.
“The first two sectors were quite okay, but I knew that in the last sector Mercedes were very fast, and probably hard to replicate what they were doing there,” continued Verstappen.
Verstappen further elaborated on the behavior of his car.
He noted that unusual handling issues had emerged earlier in the lap before the definitive incident at Turn 9.
“I knew for myself there was margin still.
I think even if we would have been P3, that would have been a very nice result for us.
But on that final lap, I can’t really explain why it felt like that,” added Verstappen.
The handling anomaly first manifested during a combined corner entry earlier in the sequence, according to the driver's trackside assessment.
“Already in Turn 6 it was the same thing, on the long, combined entry.
I had a big snap, a big moment, which was a bit odd, because that corner normally always understeers,” explained Verstappen.
The vehicle snapped in an identical fashion when entering the penultimate corner. This neutralized any chance of challenging for the front row.
“I went into Turn 9 and the same happened...
As soon as I turned the wheel it just completely snapped, and it was not even controllable anymore,” remarked Verstappen.
Looking ahead to the Grand Prix, Verstappen shifted his focus toward evaluating potential upgrades and matching the race performance of his primary rivals.
“I think we’re a little bit behind Mercedes at least,” admitted Verstappen.
Red Bull's technical focus remains heavily directed toward correcting performance deficits that have regularly impacted their competitiveness during extended race stints.
“I think in Barcelona as well it was quite close-ish in Qualifying, but then we were lacking in the race, because that’s still I think our weak point.
That’s what we want to see tomorrow, if we have any kind of improvements in race pace,” concluded Verstappen.
Verstappen's teammate, Isack Hadjar, qualified in eighth position for the upcoming race at the energy drink company's home venue.
