Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen suffered a massive crash after the rear wheels of his RB22 Formula 1 car locked up under braking, leading him to spin out and crash into the barriers during Q1 of the Australian Grand Prix qualifying session.
Verstappen was on his flying lap when he suddenly spun out at Turn 1. The unexpected event surprised everyone, since the Dutchman is known for his error-free qualifying runs.
However, replays of the incident suggested a mechanical fault that likely caused the breaking to engage at the rear of the car. The car then hurtled down the gravel section and crashed into the barriers head-on.
Verstappen was heard saying on the radio, “The car just f***ing locked on the rear axle. Fantastic.” He was seen shaking his right hand while walking away from his car.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 later on, the 28-year-old driver said that he hadn’t seen the data to know the cause of the problem and emphasized that he had never experienced anything like that before. He said:
“I didn’t speak to the team yet or didn’t look into any data, but to lose the car like that on the braking I’ve never experienced that in my life.
“I hit the [brake] pedal and suddenly the whole rear axle just completely locked up, so definitely a bit weird.
“I think it already went wrong before the downshift because I hit the pedal and as soon as I hit the pedal, because you quite quickly downshift, it already immediately locked on the peak of the brake pressure, basically.
“So something very weird, that’s for sure.”
The 2026 car splits internal combustion and electric power equally with new rules around aerodynamics hence drivers have had to adapt to an entirely new style of racing. Verstappen isn’t too happy with the changes to the car and the driving style. Revealing his views during the pre-season test in Bahrain, he said:
“To drive [they are] not a lot of fun, to be honest. I would say the right word is management. It’s not very Formula 1-like. It feels a bit more like Formula E on steroids. But the rules are the same for everyone, so you have to deal with that.
“As a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out and at the moment, you cannot drive like that. There’s a lot going on. A lot of what you do as a driver, in terms of inputs, has a massive effect on the energy side of things. For me, that’s just not Formula 1. Maybe it’s then better to drive Formula E, right? Because that’s all about energy, efficiency and management.
“We’re energy poor. I just want normal driving, just how it should be without having to [say]: ‘Oh, if I brake a bit longer or less or more, or one gear up or down.’ It so heavily impacts the performance on the straights. Plus, the grip at the moment is quite low with these tyres and the car configuration. It is a big step back to how it was.”
