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Verstappen speaks of a difficult start to the day, with a positive end. "The long run was not bad, as was the last fast lap. We still have some work to do, but we have improved throughout the day."
Verstappen speaks of a difficult start to the day, with a positive end. "The long run was not bad, as was the last fast lap. We still have some work to do, but we have improved throughout the day."
He seems very positive with it
Still have "some work to do", but there is no more night practice to evaluate the changes.
I wonder if the 2022 trend will continue. Redbull usually would start the weekend with a setup Max wouldn't like then they'd mostly fix it by FP3 and boom. On the weekends Max was already comfortable with the car in Fridays, they'd dominate on Sunday
Max Verstappen: "It was very difficult to start, but we are now on the right track"
At the start of the evening session, Verstappen was still not satisfied. "I feel like I'm bouncing in all directions, this really feels like ---," he said via the on-board radio.
Afterwards, Red Bull still made changes and Verstappen seized P2 with his second attempt on softs. However, that lap was still just under two tenths slower than what Fernando Alonso had set in his surprisingly good Aston Martin.
"It was a difficult start to the day", Verstappen admits afterwards behind the Red Bull garage. "The first free practice was really bad and that's kind of crazy because during the test days almost everything we tried felt good.
The start of the second practice was also difficult, but my last fast lap wasn't too bad, even though I didn't have a reference then and had to build up some confidence in the car again."
Long runs are good, Aston Martin surprisingly strong?
Verstappen indicates that Red Bull has gradually got on the right track.
"The car felt better at the end. We had a difficult start, but eventually we went in the right direction. Now it looks much better."
The latter mainly applies to the long run, which Verstappen completed on softs at the end of the second training session.
"After all the changes we made, I was quite surprised by our speed in the long run. The car is certainly not bad in longer runs. I just need to find my rhythm with the way the car is now."
It mainly concerns one lap, with Verstappen still thinking pole is realistic. "If I feel happy in the car again and can push the way I want over one lap, then we'll be fast. But it's also important that with those one-lap adjustments the car doesn't go out of the window for the long runs. "
For pole position, a surprising customer suddenly joined on Friday. Ferrari certainly hasn't shown the back of their tongue yet, but Aston Martin left a strong impression today. Is that also a surprisingly strong impression for Verstappen?
"They are fast, but we could already see in the test that they are very competitive. They had a good day and, as I said, we still have some work to do, although we still have a very competitive car.
Now it's about putting all the puzzle pieces in the right place," concludes the two-time world champion.
They'll get that car dialled in for tomorrow, guarantee it. Where there has always been a problem with setup during Friday FP, they come out strong on the Saturday in FP3.
Past performances are no guarantee...may be it's good for their motivation when they have to work for it.
According to some reports VER had the WDC already in the bag.
Already the quickest team given max seems happy with the long run pace despite Alonso being as quick on paper. And this is despite verstappen having setup woes.
Expecting Ferrari to be closer tomorrow but if RB can get setup right I expect pole/win. If not then I see him fighting for win but from lower down
Laurence asks if max thinks that if they can iron out setup issues they are the quickest and max says yes if he feels happy in the car and can push then they are. He is surprisingly positive about today. I have never seen him act like this after a difficult day in the cockpit ever
Rb18 didn't do too well at rear-limited tracks and it seems the rb19 is a bit of a monster here so far - very impressive development
Last edited by organic on 03 Mar 2023, 20:20, edited 1 time in total.
Rb18 didn't do too well at rear-limited tracks and it seems the rb19 is a bit of a monster here so far - very impressive development
I thought they were front limited . Wasn't that why Australia, Austria, Brazil was so bad?
Perez made a comment about destroying the front tires last season.
"I think the rear has just taken a step in a worse direction. But I think at the end of the day, it's good, because I think last year, the tyres were really terrible.
"The front was degrading, while the rear was staying fairly consistent, and it was just getting worse and worse.
Rb18 didn't do too well at rear-limited tracks and it seems the rb19 is a bit of a monster here so far - very impressive development
I thought they were front limited . Wasn't that why Australia, Austria, Brazil was so bad?
To be fair on Austria and Brazil there were reports saying Redbull were getting heavier (in Austria because of upgrades, in Brazil because of using spare parts, also them being sprint weekends didn't help them as well) and Australia they messed up their set-up, at least that's what they told to the press.
Rb18 didn't do too well at rear-limited tracks and it seems the rb19 is a bit of a monster here so far - very impressive development
I thought they were front limited . Wasn't that why Australia, Austria, Brazil was so bad?
To be fair on Austria and Brazil there were reports saying Redbull were getting heavier (in Austria because of upgrades, in Brazil because of using spare parts, also them being sprint weekends didn't help them as well) and Australia they messed up their set-up, at least that's what they told to the press.
In hindsight its difficult to argue that the RB18 was a bad car given it's results, but the RB19 had a pretty low bar for improvement. RB18 was overweight and understeery when really pushed and would tear up the front tires on front limited circuits. Even in Mexico, despite being quick, Max killed the front tires in that first stint and then didn't really have to push anymore after Mercedes bottled their tire strategy. I never got the sense that RB18 had the front tire under control. Not even in Abu Dhabi.
The only race where I felt they struggled with rear limitation was Bahrain last year when the Ferrari was getting off turn 1 so much better.
Rb18 didn't do too well at rear-limited tracks and it seems the rb19 is a bit of a monster here so far - very impressive development
I thought they were front limited . Wasn't that why Australia, Austria, Brazil was so bad?
To be fair on Austria and Brazil there were reports saying Redbull were getting heavier (in Austria because of upgrades, in Brazil because of using spare parts, also them being sprint weekends didn't help them as well) and Australia they messed up their set-up, at least that's what they told to the press.
Austria and Aus were setup problems. Brazil was heavier parts due to component life
Ferrari had superior rear tyre deg at Spain due to rear limitation there for the rb18
