Pundit reveals Max Verstappen's camp's sharp criticism of Red Bull's RB21

Red Bull star Max Verstappen drove a brilliant race in Interlagos in what was a pitlane-to-podium drive for the four-time F1 champion. F1 Pundit Ralf Schumacher recently came out and detailed Verstappen's camp's criticism of the RB21, which caused the qualifying woes in Brazil.

Max Verstappen came into the 2025 Brazilian GP as the inform driver with newfound pace in the RB21. Interlagos has always been a happy hunting ground for the Dutchman, but the qualifying session on Saturday suggested a different story. Verstappen continued to complain about the balance and grip from the tires during the session and was eliminated in the Q1 session.

The RB21 was all over the place, with Verstappen having to underdrive the car to prevent it from spinning around. The four-time F1 champion had a meeting with the senior engineer and other members after the qualifying, and the team made the decision to break the parc ferme. The suspension setup was overhauled with a new power unit in the back of the RB21, leading to a pitlane start.

F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo 2025 - Source: Getty

The car then had great pace during the race as Max Verstappen finished the race on the podium despite getting a puncture early on the hard tire stint. F1 pundit and former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher came out and explained how he had a chat with Jos Verstappen, who revealed the RB21’s struggles with getting the tires into the optimal operating window.

“They took a wrong turn, it shows the team – and Verstappen does not yet understand the car properly. Hence the fluctuation in the performance of the Red Bull. There was more in it, and that has to be said clearly,” said Schumacher (via Sky Deutschland) “I spoke with Jos, who said that you can’t imagine how difficult it is to get these tyres into their optimal operating window. That would explain why Mercedes and sometimes McLaren have problems. Nevertheless, that shouldn’t be the case for a top team that has won so many world championships,” added Schumacher

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Max Verstappen reflects on Brazilian GP comeback: “I didn't expect that”

F1 Grand Prix of Brazil - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen started the race from the pit lane and was quick to overtake the backmarkers in the first few laps before Charles Leclerc retired from the race. There had been a lot of incidents on the track in the first few laps which left debris, and the Dutchman faced a puncture, had to pit, and lost all his progress.

Starting again from all the way back, Verstappen was able to carve his way through the grid and finished P3. Reflecting on the race in the post-session interviews, he said,

“Sometimes it’s difficult to know fully with traffic and stuff, but to be on the podium from the pit lane… I didn’t expect that at all, even with a puncture as well at the beginning of the race. That’s why we had to box again. It’s an incredible result for us so I’m very happy with that, and just very proud of everyone within the team as well.”

Max Verstappen is 49 points Lando Norris going into the final three races, with the title chances looking slim.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi