Red Bull takes blame after Verstappen’s Austrian GP qualifying crash

Red Bull identifies rear aero loss behind Verstappen crash

Red Bull has accepted responsibility for Max Verstappen’s dramatic Q3 crash during Austrian Grand Prix qualifying after confirming that the RB22 suffered a loss of rear aerodynamic performance at the Red Bull Ring.

Laurent Mekies later clarified the team’s view of the incident, stating that Verstappen was short of rear downforce at the critical moment. “The dynamic of the incident was quite unusual. We lost aero performance on the rear of the car and it gave Max no chance to survive,” Mekies said. “As a team we take full responsibility for it and apologise to him.”

Rear-wing question remains unanswered

Red Bull has not commented further on the precise cause, but Mekies’ reference to rear aerodynamic performance naturally puts attention on the rear of the car. Immediately after the impact, race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told Verstappen over team radio: “I will check the rear wing, maybe a delay on the rear wing.”

Just before Turn 9, the Red Bull Ring features an SM zone where active aerodynamics are deployed. Photographs showed the rear wing had closed again by the time Verstappen hit the barriers, but Verstappen maintained that the rear downforce was missing at turn-in.

After Red Bull identified the issue, Verstappen also accepted that the spin was effectively out of his control. “In T9 there was a big loss of rear end grip and the car spun out at high speed. I had an uncontrollable spin and the wheel fully locked,” he said. “We lost aero performance due to some damage on the rear of the car, which caused the issue. The car spun off and the situation was out of my hands unfortunately.”

Upgrade learning curve continues

Verstappen admitted that even without the crash he did not expect to fight for pole, but believed third place behind both Mercedes drivers was possible. Crucially for Sunday, he said the RB22 damage was limited and should not affect the race.

The crash came during a challenging weekend for Red Bull. On Friday, both drivers reported a power unit issue at Turn 3, specifically a loss of RPM at the apex, though Verstappen later said that problem had been resolved. Balance was also not where the team wanted it before qualifying, despite progress before parc fermé.

Mekies said Red Bull is still understanding its major upgrade package, calling the improved pace an encouraging first step rather than a finished product.