Furious Max Verstappen 'completely done' after latest Red Bull problem

Max Verstappen felt "completely done" with Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying after suffering from Red Bull's latest problem, taking away any chance of a strong result. 

Verstappen could only manage eighth place in qualifying following an issue with his battery, and the Dutchman was fuming afterwards.

For a long time it looked like a strong result was on the cards for Verstappen in Baku. The Red Bull driver had been running close behind an unstoppable George Russell for much of the session, but it all fell apart in Q3. 

Verstappen reported that his car was struggling to charge and appeared to be caught out by a yellow flag as well. 

Eighth was as good as it got, leaving him well adrift of team-mate Isack Hadjar, and the 28-year-old did not hold back when explaining what went wrong.

"The engine just wasn't working the whole of qualifying," Verstappen told Viaplay.

"We'd made one change to the car and that didn't really pay off either. But yeah, the car wasn't working. Compared to my team-mate I was already half a second down on the straights.

"You want to push on for the middle sector and suddenly the battery wasn't full. It's not charging, it's not working. And then they tell me I need to push with half a battery. I thought: just piss off. I was completely done with it for a moment."

Verstappen had entered qualifying as a real contender for pole position, as the Red Bull star went quickest in final practice. 

While George Russell unlocked exceptional pace in the final part of qualifying, a front row start was on the cards for Verstappen if not for the problems he faced.

"You prepare so well all weekend," added Verstappen. "The car is working well. Then it all falls apart in qualifying and you can't do anything with it anymore. 

"After that aborted lap because the battery was half full, the tyre pressure also cooled down too much. You can't push because it's not working, so you can't get enough temperature into the tyres."

"So in the last lap as well I just didn't have the right grip, plus the same problem with the engine not working. 

"The engine braking was also strange, sometimes it felt like you were pulling the handbrake in certain corners. Something is seriously wrong."

Asked whether the issue could be fixed before the race, Verstappen was uncertain.

"I don't know. They need to look into whether it can be solved with this engine. It's a shame of course when you've been so strong all weekend. Then they basically throw it away."