MEXICO CITY :Max Verstappen's championship charge hit a speed bump at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday as he qualified fifth and admitted his Red Bull had been "very difficult" to handle.

The four-times world champion, sitting 40 points behind McLaren's Formula One leader Oscar Piastri, made no attempt to sugar-coat his team's struggles despite winning three of the last four races.

"It's just been very difficult. I've tried a lot of stuff. It's not the lack of trying," Verstappen told reporters.

"There was just no grip. There's a turn where I have no traction, it slides. Basically, everything we tried didn’t really work. I need people to retire in front of me to go ahead," he added.

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