The Dutchman repeatedly voiced his frustration over the radio throughout various stages of the session, while his teammate had looked far more competitive, even topping Q2 before eventually finishing just behind Verstappen in the final classification. Despite beating Hadjar, however, Verstappen still ended qualifying three tenths adrift of pole position.
Verstappen nevertheless admitted that, if the current situation were to continue unchanged into next year, he could begin reconsidering his future, stressing that competing under such conditions for another full season would be mentally unsustainable for him.
“If it stays like this, it’s going to be a long year next year, which I don’t want. I can tell you if it stays like this, then let’s see. It’s just mentally not doable for me to stay like this. It’s really not”
He also acknowledged that stepping away from Formula 1 would be a major decision, but hinted that there are many other categories and challenges outside the sport that he would still enjoy pursuing: That’s a big decision to make. There’s a lot of other fun things out there.”
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool