Max Verstappen is preparing for a challenging race weekend for Red Bull in Japan. The first free practice sessions at Suzuka revealed a number of problems, which meant the Dutchman could only manage seventh and tenth place. The gap to the front runners is significant. Moreover, Verstappen expects that the current shortcomings in his RB22 will not be resolved overnight.
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“It wasn’t very good, to be honest”, Max Verstappen sighed after the second free practice session. Red Bull tried everything during the second practice hour to sharpen the lap times of the four-time world champion, but to no avail. The RB22 was fitted with a new nose and adjustments were also made to the rear axle. Nevertheless, Verstappen continued to struggle for grip and the right balance. Compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, Red Bull will have to settle for a supporting role in Japan for now.
‘You don’t just solve that’
“We struggled quite a bit with the balance and grip”, Verstappen confirmed. “There’s still a lot of work to do. It wasn’t comparable to two weeks ago in China, but we still don’t fully understand why we’re so far off, especially in the first sector and the faster corners.” In Shanghai, the Red Bull driver finished outside the points in the sprint and retired from the race due to a technical issue.
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“We need to understand why we’re experiencing these major problems”, Verstappen added. “But it wasn’t our best day. And I think it won’t be easy to solve such problems within one day”, he concluded realistically. Verstappen won the last three editions of the Japanese Grand Prix, but had already indicated before the race weekend that he would probably not continue his winning streak.
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