In a Hungaroring qualifying hour complicated by rain and two red flags, Verstappen was denied a place on Sunday’s front row by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri with the McLaren drivers putting their in-form team in control of at least the start of the 70-lap race on a circuit where overtaking is difficult.
Verstappen still came within a whisker of the front row – he finished just 0.024s behind second-placed Piastri and 0.046s adrift of pole-sitter Norris – on a weekend so far dominated by the rapid McLarens. On-board footage from the end of the Dutchman’s final Q3 lap showed the championship leader slapping his wheel with his hands
Asked after qualifying what had led him to do that, a characteristically frank Verstappen told Sky Sports: “I’m frustrated just because we are not fast enough, and it has been for a while like that.
“This weekend we brought quite a few upgrades to the car and we’re still not fast enough. So, yeah, if I’m not showing emotions anymore than I don’t care about myself – so I do care a lot.
“So just frustrating. I felt like I tried everything I could to try and get pole, I know it’s very important around here also and for the championship, and we just lacked pace again.”
