"Nope, no grip, just sliding front wheels": Max Verstappen's exasperated reaction to a lack of performance in Red Bull

Red Bull star Max Verstappen's struggles with the RB21 continued at the 2025 Canadian GP Free Practice 3 session on Saturday, June 14. With McLaren overtaking Red Bull in car development, the Dutchman has to push the car harder than ever before, and the evident performance gap is more visible than ever. The same led to an exasperated reaction from the Dutch driver at the Canadian GP practice.

Max Verstappen has struggled with the behavior characteristics of the RB21 since the start of the season and is often spotted complaining about the same to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase on the radio. It's either the balance of the car, the clutch and gearbox, brakes, or other times the grip from the tires.

The Dutchman struggled with the brake temperature and grip during the Friday practice session when he ran over the last Chicane and complained about the same. During the FP3 session in Montreal, Max Verstappen was heard on the radio complaining about the front grip of the tires during his final run in the session.

F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Practice Session - Source: Getty

Pirelli has brought the softest compound of tires for the Canadian GP, given the low degradation and cold track temperature nature of the circuit. The same has led to multiple drivers struggling with the tire temperatures, including Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver complained about the grip after his penultimate lap in FP3, and was heard on the radio saying,

“Nope, No grip, just sliding front wheels.”

Verstappen is known to drive a car with a strong front end and a loose rear end, i.e., an oversteer setup. A lack of grip at the front means the defending champion isn't able to point the car into the corner and get the desired entry speed and angle.

Although Verstappen topped the FP1 in Canada, it has since then been a struggle for him. He finished P9 in FP2 on Friday and only managed P5 in FP3, behind the likes of Lando Norris, George Russell, and the two Ferrari drivers.

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McLaren came out with a car far superior to Red Bull at the start of the 2025 season. While both cars have similar high-speed performance, it is the low-speed performance and rear traction-limited corners where the McLaren excels.

Max Verstappen has won two races this season, which include the Japanese GP and the Imola GP, two circuits that predominantly have high-speed corners. However, the Dutchman has struggled around circuits with rear traction-limited corners.

F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Final Practice - Source: Getty

The Canadian GP circuit is essentially long straights with multiple chicanes and a tight hairpin corner. It is an extremely rear traction-limited circuit and requires the cars to have good mechanical grip, which is not the RB21’s strongest suit this season. This is possibly the reason why Verstappen in the RB21 is struggling in 2025.