Max Verstappen Reveals the Problem That Ruined His RB22 in Brazil

Max Verstappen once again delivered one of those comebacks that have become a trademark of the house at Interlagos; the Dutch Red Bull driver started from twenty-first and crossed the finish line in second, adding another memorable chapter to his history at the Brazilian circuit.

Far from celebrating the result with euphoria, the Dutchman left the track with a bittersweet feeling: his RB22, which had worked like clockwork in the first stint, became ungovernable after the first pit stop, and Red Bull is already investigating what went wrong.

Verstappen's race began with his own mistake: "To be honest, I had a very slow reaction time at the start because I was holding the clutch badly. I had to react very quickly, and then I started slowly, so it was my mistake," the four-time world champion admitted. Despite this, his comeback was relentless. 

"Then in two laps, I was passing cars at full speed, almost at every corner, we had much more grip, I suppose, than most in the midfield, I don't know at what lap I was already in the top 10, but everything happened very quickly," he explained.

The problem came when he mounted the slick tires: "As soon as I switched to the slicks, I had an extreme amount of oversteer in the car in the high-speed corners, which made it super difficult to drive. We have to understand if something broke in the car, some kind of aerodynamic loss or whatever, because this was not normal. I am here, of course, very happy with second place, but at the same time I know there was more if the car had been in good condition," Verstappen noted.

The Dutchman made it clear that he did most of the race in a damaged car: "Even when I returned to the intermediates at the end, the car was completely different from my first stint, which shows that there is something wrong," he added.

Red Bull had already detected a possible loss of rear aerodynamic load in the data during the race, but at the time they did not know whether Verstappen had suffered damage or where. The team, led by Laurent Mekies, will work against the clock to identify the problem's origin before the season's final races. The reliability and consistency of the RB22 have been two of the team's biggest weak points this year, and this new incident adds another concern to the list.

Despite everything, Verstappen's performance in Brazil once again showed why he is considered one of the best drivers in history; his ability to come back, his on-track aggression, and his skill in managing adverse situations are virtues few can match.

The Dutchman, however, prefers to look to the future with optimism: "Maybe next year I would love to start a little further ahead instead of doing it from behind or from the pit lane, but we will find out next year. I like races like this, but next year, let's just try to start a little further ahead, please. That would be a great start," he concluded with a smile.

Red Bull has work to do but with Verstappen at the wheel, everything is possible.