A performance below expectations marked Max Verstappen’s Friday (12) in free practice for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The Dutch driver, four-time Formula 1 world champion, expressed strong dissatisfaction with his car’s lack of grip on the track and indicated that Red Bull may face difficulties in fighting for the top positions. This scenario, atypical for a competitor of his caliber and successful history, signals a challenging weekend for the team and raises questions about the balance of forces in the category.
Detailing the difficulties, Verstappen stated that the Red Bull car was deficient “at high and low speeds, basically everywhere”. According to him, “we didn’t have grip all day, we were always struggling with car control and balance. So, we need to try to work on that. I don’t think we have the conditions to fight for the top positions.”
During the first sessions of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, the Red Bull athlete recorded the fourth time in the first training session and the sixth in the second. Even after an attempt to improve performance by changing hard tires, Verstappen was unable to find the ideal adaptation for the track conditions.
The Dutchman also highlighted the perception that the lack of grip was a widespread problem on the Catalan track, but that his team faced an extra challenge. “I didn’t feel good with any type of tire, but it seemed the same for everyone. I followed some people and there is no grip, the cars slide a lot. If we compare our side with the top-4, we suffered a little more with the balance, but I don’t think anyone had a very good balance today”, he commented.
The emotions at the Circuit de Catalunya continue this Saturday (13), with the third free practice session and the important qualifying session, which will define the starting grid for the main race.
Barcelona-Catalonia Grand Prix schedules and activities
Check out the full schedule of upcoming sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya:
- SATURDAY, JUNE 13
- Free Training 3 – 7:30 am (Brasília time)
- Classification – 11am (Brasília time)
- SUNDAY, JUNE 14
- Race – Starting at 10am (Brasília time)