Max Verstappen experienced one of the toughest days of the entire 2025 Formula 1 season on Friday night at the Losail International Circuit. What began as a complicated Sprint qualifying session turned into a nightmare for the four-time world champion.

The Dutchman initially qualified third, behind Oscar Piastri and George Russell. However, a three-place grid penalty for allegedly impeding Russell during a slow lap relegated him to sixth on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint.

This puts his main title rival, Lando Norris, in third place, while Oscar Piastri—who is currently tied on points with Verstappen in the championship—will start from pole position.

The balance of the World Championship could be completely turned upside down after this weekend.

From the very first minutes of the Sprint Shootout, it was clear that something was seriously wrong with the Red Bull RB21. Verstappen complained repeatedly over the radio about extreme bouncing, known as porpoising or bouncing, especially in the fast turns 9 to 14.

“The balance is completely lost, the car is jumping all over the place,” the Limburg driver said in frustration. His engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, tried to help with minor adjustments to the front wing and differential, but nothing seemed to work.

In Q3, Verstappen couldn’t get below a 1:21.483, four tenths slower than Piastri and almost three tenths behind Norris.

A time that under normal circumstances would have been enough to get him a front-row start was only sufficient for P3… and, after the penalty, for P6.

After the session, Verstappen appeared unusually gloomy to F1TV and the Dutch media. “This isn’t the car I want to race,” he stated, his face saying it all.

“From the first lap, I suffered from very aggressive understeer in the slow corners, which at high speed turned into severe oversteer. And then there’s the bouncing… you lose a lot of time on both the straights and the fast corners.

We tried everything from the steering wheel, but it didn’t help. With this setup, tomorrow’s Sprint race won’t be about attacking, but about surviving. I’ll be satisfied if I can hold onto sixth position.”

That last sentence—“I’ll be satisfied if I hold onto sixth place”—perfectly reflects the severity of the current crisis at Red Bull.

The car that dominated at the beginning of the season on circuits like Suzuka and Spa-Francorchamps seems completely lost on the abrasive Qatari asphalt.

The bouncing problem had already appeared several times this year on tracks that require a lot of downforce and have irregular surfaces, but it had rarely been as extreme as it was this Friday under the floodlights at Losail.

Analysts point to a combination of the new track regulations for 2025, the lower ride heights used by teams this season, and the extremely high temperatures of the Qatari asphalt, which even at night exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

The consequences for the championship could be enormous. If Piastri wins the Sprint race and Verstappen fails to improve beyond P6, the Dutchman will not only lose valuable points to McLaren in the constructors’ championship, but also to Piastri himself in the title fight.

Norris, who will start third, could even take the virtual lead if he manages a strong race.

To all this must be added the three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race: Verstappen will start from at least ninth position, and it could be even worse if further penalties are applied.

Even so, Verstappen is trying to stay positive. “We have to try to survive the Sprint session, gather as much data as possible, and make big changes tonight and tomorrow before the regular qualifying,” he explained.

“In yesterday’s long runs, the car wasn’t too bad, so there’s potential. But with this setup, we have no chance tomorrow.” Team advisor Helmut Marko was visibly upset and called it “one of the worst Fridays in years.”

According to Austrian media, a crisis team would meet overnight to discuss radical changes to the setup, possibly even a completely different floor.

For the hundreds of thousands of Dutch fans following the day on Ziggo Sport and Viaplay, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Verstappen, usually so cheerful about his fast laps and pole positions, only reflected frustration and pure sincerity.

“I can’t promise miracles to my fans tomorrow,” he concluded. “We’ll do everything we can, but it will be a matter of limiting the damage.”

Whether Red Bull can get the RB21 back to competitive form in less than 24 hours is the big question. What is certain, however, is that the 2025 World Championship has never been as tight and unpredictable as it was this weekend in Qatar.