Max Verstappen issues Red Bull upgrades judgement after shock crash

Max Verstappen has given his verdict on Red Bull's new upgrades for the Austrian Grand Prix, describing them as "a bit better".

The Dutchman was in contention for pole position at Red Bull's home race and was provisionally third on the grid following the opening runs in the final part of qualifying.

On his second lap, the four-time world champion looked set to improve before suddenly crashing at the penultimate corner.

Verstappen's RB22 suddenly snapped away from him as he entered the corner, with Isack Hadjar suggesting there may have been an issue with the straight-line mode.

In the end, Verstappen qualified fifth but believes the upgrades were, overall, a step in the right direction.

Asked how the upgrades performed, Verstappen told select media, including RacingNews365: "Most of the upgrade worked well. A few things still need to be looked at to see if they can be improved. 

"Overall, I do think it was a bit better. But of course, this is a very short lap, so in terms of lap times, the gaps are always a bit tighter. We’ll have to wait and see how things look in the upcoming races."

The difficulty in judging the performance of upgrades at the Red Bull Ring lies in just how short the circuit is, with a lap taking only 66 seconds to complete.

As a result, Verstappen still feels Red Bull is behind, pinpointing Mercedes in particular as having an advantage over his team.

"It didn’t feel bad," added Verstappen. "But the fact is, of course, that you’re still a bit behind. In that regard, we haven’t closed the gap that much yet. 

"If you compare it to Barcelona, too—it’s a short lap here. I do think Mercedes was very strong in the fast corners. That’s where you’re still falling a bit short."