Verstappen felt like he was ‘driving on eggs’ in Hungary F1 qualifying

Max Verstappen described the feeling he had in his Red Bull Formula 1 car during a wet Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying as “like driving on eggs”.

Verstappen, who has gained a reputation for his driving skills in wet-weather following some remarkable performances - most notably at the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix - could only manage the seventh-quickest time during a soaking Q3 in Budapest. 

The Dutchman was out-qualified by the Renault of Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly’s Toro Rosso in the session and admitted he was at a loss as to why his RB14 felt so difficult to drive, particularly when running on full wets. 

“The car was just not having a lot of grip, especially on the extreme tyres, we were really struggling but even on the intermediates it was not fantastic. I don’t know why as otherwise we’d have changed it," Verstappen said. 

“Just sliding around, no grip, locking. Mid-corner, no grip, no traction. Like driving on eggs. At the end of the day we were just slow. I was hoping for more but it didn’t go to plan in qualifying.”

Red Bull had been tipped for a strong weekend around the tight and twisty Hungaroring, but Daniel Ricciardo’s shock elimination from Q2 compounded a disappointing day for the team. 

And Verstappen felt Red Bull would have had “no chance” to fight for pole had conditions remained dry, given Renault’s well-documented deficits in engine power compared to Ferrari and Mercedes. 

“When you are losing seven, eight tenths on the straight in normal modes, not even the power mode yet, it’s just way too much,” he explained. 

Verstappen also escaped punishment for a possible block on Romain Grosjean’s Haas during the top 10 shootout, with F1 stewards concluding that limited visibility had played a role, ultimatelt opting to take no further action after ruling it was not “unnecessary impeding”. 

When asked about the incident, Verstappen said: “Well it was really difficult to see, the team told me to go and I went for my lap. Difficult to see what’s behind you."