Max Verstappen has finished the Friday training sessions at the Brazilian Grand Prix in third position, which he maintained in both sessions. The Dutch driver was two and a half tenths off the fastest, with Lando Norris dominating the first session and Kimi Antonelli the second.
Although Red Bull believes that their car has “great potential” to compete at the front, the day had its complications for Verstappen. During the initial practice, he expressed his usual discomfort with the gear reductions, and a problem with the power steering posed an extra challenge in the final minutes of the session.
In the second practice, Verstappen featured one of the funniest moments of the year on the team’s radio. The driver did not immediately understand a message from his race engineer, Tom Hart, who is replacing Gianpiero Lambiase this weekend, regarding the power unit and the gearbox.
Verstappen humorously responded by asking: “What does that mean? Do I have to talk to the engine myself?” This light-hearted interaction reflected the more relaxed atmosphere within the team.
A notable point is that Verstappen decided to pit early during the second session. With more than six minutes left, the four-time world champion suggested his own withdrawal, as inferred from the radio conversations.
Hart confirmed the decision, indicating that if he wanted to pit, he should do so at the end of that lap, given that radio communication had deteriorated. At the end of the day in São Paulo, Red Bull’s race strategy head, Hannah Schmitz, detailed that the decision to return to the pits was due to “the many inconsistencies” discovered in the long run, which made the collected data useless.
This is significant as pitting early restricted the possibility of practicing a grid start, an important situation given that the Interlagos circuit has a considerable incline and the Red Bull starts have not always been excellent this year.
After getting out of the car, mechanics were seen working under his RB22. Regarding the competitive situation, Schmitz is optimistic, asserting that the vehicle has great potential after Verstappen had won three of the last four grands prix.
“There are many things we want to analyze and adjust overnight, but that is good news because it shows we know what is happening with the car,” she stated. However, the weather forecast is a factor to consider, as Red Bull worked to thoroughly understand the three tire compounds, although Friday’s conditions were radically different from what is expected for Sunday.
“Today’s conditions were quite different from those expected for Sunday, so we have to evaluate how this will translate for race day,” Schmitz concluded.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
