Verstappen highlights Red Bull Achilles' heel after Azerbaijan woe

Max Verstappen was left feeling downbeat after qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, explaining he knew from the outset he was in for a "difficult" session.

The Dutchman will start the race in Baku from sixth on the grid, whilst Sergio Perez was fourth-fastest in the grid-setting session at the Baku Street Circuit.

It is the first time in 2024 the reigning F1 drivers' champion has been out-qualified by his team-mate.

The 26-year-old was quick to drill down to the root of the issue, identifying excessive bouncing as the cause for his less-than-satisfactory result.

"I already knew after the first run in Q1 that it was going to be difficult," Verstappen told Viaplay.

"We changed a few things on the car and that made it very difficult. The car bounced a lot at the back when entering and exiting the corner.

"That made it very difficult, although Q2 went pretty well. But in the car it already didn't feel good, I couldn't optimise and I had just too much understeer. You don't want that on a street circuit."

Set-up changes provoked Verstappen qualifying issues

The saving grace for Verstappen is that whilst he was not happy with sixth, his closest title rival, Lando Norris, could only qualify P17.

The McLaren driver was eliminated in Q1 in inauspicious circumstances, triggered by an issue to Esteban Ocon's Alpine when he was trying to set a final push lap to clear himself from the drop zone.

However, despite the reprieve, the three-time drivers' champion goes into Sunday's grand prix knowing he will have to nurse his RB20 through the race after set-up changes again unsettled the car.

"Q3 had to be better, but in the first run I had that little mistake in the last corner," the Red Bull driver said.

"The car broke out and in the last run I was bouncing a lot again. If you're not completely comfortable then you can't attack.

"We changed some things [to the car], that's a bummer," the 61-time grand prix winner added.

"Of course, you always try to make the best of it. I'm not dejected in the car, but I knew it was going to be difficult. Even the long runs don't go well when the car feels like this. We'll see."