A despondent Max Verstappen exclaims 'it couldn't be worse than today' after a disappointing day for Red Bull

A despondent Max Verstappen exclaimed that it couldn't get worse for Red Bull from where the team was on Friday. Coming off the first loss in a straight fight in Miami, the Austrian team was hoping for a better start to the weekend in Imola.

Red Bull was also one of the teams that brought a significant amount of upgrades to the car in Imola and was looking for a smoother passage. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. From the very first run, it became apparent that Max Verstappen was struggling a lot in the second sector.

Even though the driver was able to stay competitive in the first and third sectors again, both Ferrari and McLaren, the second sector was where he either lost time or, when he pushed, went off track.

Both FP1 and FP2 showed that McLaren and Ferrari were possibly in better shape compared to Red Bull, and Max Verstappen might have a fight on his hands as the team continues its pursuit to find the sweet spot with the car.

Talking to the media, including Sportskeeda after the session, Max Verstappen said that a lot of work needed to be done overnight as he felt not much could get worse than where the team is at the moment. He said,

"It was a difficult day, it was difficult to get the balance right and I didn't really feel comfortable in the car. It was very easy to lose the car, so there are a few things we have to look at because today was just not good."

He added,

"The long run was also very bad, and we definitely have to improve some things if we want to be competitive [in qualifying]. It looks like the others have taken a step forward, and from our side, it was just a bad day. Do I think things will be better on Saturday? It couldn't be worse than today."

Max Verstappen on the incident with Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen dismissed the incident with Lewis Hamilton as nothing major. During FP2, the driver was impeded by the Mercedes driver on a hot lap. What was egregious was where Lewis had placed his car on the track and Max ended up gesturing towards the Mercedes driver while both were in their cars.

When questioned about the incident, Max shrugged it off and said that this wasn't anything major as the primary focus has to be on getting the car in the right window and not these things. He said,

"It is not the first time, but it happened and I don't want to talk too much [about it]. Because that wasn't our problem today, we have to fix our speed."

Max Verstappen has not lost two consecutive races in the new ground effect era. If he does at Imola, it could be the start of something new for the fans.