"It will only get worse tomorrow": Max Verstappen's downbeat reaction to his underwhelming qualifying for the F1 Mexican GP

Max Verstappen is not too optimistic about his chances at the Mexico City GP race after he qualified in an underwhelming P5 for the same on Saturday. The driver said he has struggled to find balance or grip in his RB21 so far during the race weekend.

Verstappen came into the Mexican GP as the most in-form driver, having won four of the last five races, including sprints. The reigning world champion's turn in fortunes has even pushed him into the fight for the drivers' title yet again in the final stages of the 2025 season.

However, with a 40-point gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri and a 26-point gap to Lando Norris, Verstappen knows he needs to be perfect at all times. This has not been the case for him and Red Bull in Mexico.

The 28-year-old has struggled in the Mexican GP so far, and has qualified on the third row for the race. After the session on Saturday, Verstappen had a dejected reaction.

"Not a single lap felt good today. There was no balance, no grip either," he said (via Viaplay). "I expect it will only get worse tomorrow."

Max Verstappen added that Red Bull's efforts to address their poor race pace during qualifying runs were a "complete failure" and that nothing that he and the team tried worked.

The only saving grace for Verstappen from qualifying is that he qualified in front of Oscar Piastri, who has struggled to find good pace in the past three race weekends.

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Max Verstappen is not expecting to make a recovery during the Mexican GP

Max Verstappen after qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix - Source: Getty

In another interview, Max Verstappen said he does not expect to make a recovery drive during the Mexican GP on Sunday. The Dutchman remarked that he would need the drivers in front of him to retire to gain any positions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez during the race.

Speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying, Verstappen cut a disappointed figure, as he said:

"There is no real recovery drive when you have no pace. I need people to retire in front of me to get ahead. Every lap that I did this weekend has not been good. Short run or long run, it never felt in the window and that is not gonna suddenly change tomorrow for the better."

Despite his underwhelming showing in qualifying, Verstappen is in a good position to make up a few more points on the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, who starts from P7.

However, Lando Norris could well become the new championship leader post the race in Mexico, as he secured the pole position on Saturday.