Here's the thing: Max Verstappen topping final practice on the streets of Baku was supposed to be the prelude to a pole position charge. Instead, the four-time World Champion unravelled completely in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ending up down in eighth on the grid and pulling zero punches about how the machine was behaving.
"The whole Qualifying was not how it should be," Verstappen said. "Already from Q1, my engine is already half a second down on the straight compared to my team mate and they can't understand why, so you're just on the back foot."
It's good. Even though I feel like there's still more to come.
The troubles just compounded from there. George Russell ultimately swept clear, leaving the rest to scrap, but Verstappen's Q3 session became a nightmare of compounding errors and mechanical gremlins. Exiting the final corner at Turn 16 on his middle lap—which is normally a banker—his battery simply failed to charge to 100 per cent, forcing him to abort and destroying his tyre temperatures.
Trying to drag the tyres back into a workable window on his final flyer proved impossible. The top speed deficit and a yellow flag brought out by Lando Norris spinning off in front of him sealed his fate down in eighth. "When you have that many issues, you also don't deserve to be there," Verstappen added, calling for the team to be far more robust.
While the Dutchman battled everything from engine drops to battery failures, his garage neighbour had a vastly different afternoon. Isack Hadjar returned to F1 following a three-round absence due to a wrist injury and promptly put together an encouraging run, securing the fourth fastest time.
It marks only the fourth time this season that Hadjar has out-qualified Verstappen. The Frenchman admitted he took a cautious approach given his physical condition and the notorious nature of the venue. "I'm actually even surprised to be that close from second," said Hadjar. "It's good. Even though I feel like there's still more to come."
