Verstappen Frustrated by Pace Deficit to… Read more
Max Verstappen admitted to a frustrating day on track after Friday’s free practice sessions at the Bahrain Grand Prix, describing the gap to McLaren as “massive” and expressing concern over Red Bull’s lack of pace. The reigning World Champion finished the second practice session in seventh place, nearly eight-tenths of a second behind pace-setter Oscar Piastri, who clocked a 1m 30.505s lap.
After Lando Norris led the way in FP1, his McLaren teammate Piastri topped the timesheets in FP2, with Norris just 0.154s behind. George Russell was third but still half a second adrift, while Verstappen found himself well off the pace. Reflecting on the performance, Verstappen said, “We’re just too slow basically every lap,” and noted that grip was difficult to find on the track. Although he didn’t feel the car’s balance was terrible, he explained that something felt off throughout the session.
Verstappen didn’t take part in FP1, having handed over his car to rookie Ayumu Iwasa as part of the team’s scheduled program. This meant the Dutchman focused more on soft tyre runs in FP2, a strategic decision that may have influenced the overall lap time comparisons. However, Verstappen acknowledged the team had taken a different approach to their Friday program and admitted the gap to McLaren was nonetheless significant. He also found the long runs uncompetitive and said, “It was honestly not a lot of fun out there… A bit of drift practice at the end there as well!”
On the other side of the Red Bull garage, Yuki Tsunoda endured a difficult day, finishing 18th. The Japanese driver, who is still adjusting to his new position at Red Bull, said the session was a learning experience, noting differences in car setup between him and Verstappen. He also cited communication issues within the team as a factor in his underwhelming session, calling it “pretty messy overall.”
Looking ahead to qualifying and the race, Tsunoda remained cautiously optimistic, acknowledging that the team plans to make significant changes. “I’m sure we’re going to change a lot of things,” he said. While he admitted it would be tough to make it into Q3, he believes there is room for improvement as operations become more streamlined.
As he continues to adapt to the RB21, Tsunoda said there is potential in the car but extracting it consistently remains a challenge. “Maybe me and Woody [my race engineer] have to go out tonight and build a relationship more!” he joked, highlighting the importance of team chemistry as he settles into his new role.
