Max Verstappen did not achieve the fastest times in either of the two practice sessions on Friday at the Emilia Romagna GP.
Red Bull faced competition from their rivals in 2024. The Austrian team lost two of the first six races of the season. As a result, Milton Keynes made several upgrades to the RB20. However, they encountered several issues with the car and Verstappen expressed his dissatisfaction with the upgrades.
Verstappen expressed his frustration and stated that the first day at the race was challenging. The Dutch driver struggled to find the right balance with the car. Additionally, the chassis had difficulty finding the proper grip. Verstappen felt that the car was easy to lose control of while driving on the track. He described the day as “difficult and uncomfortable.”
Furthermore, Verstappen noted that the long lap around the Imola circuit was not good. Therefore, Red Bull has many improvements to make during the weekend to be competitive during the race. Additionally, Verstappen admitted that the team was far behind in terms of pace and could not achieve the fastest times. Milton Keynes hopes to recover during the main race and compete for the win.
Red Bull’s rivals also made upgrades to their cars for this weekend. Ferrari and McLaren closely observed Milton Keynes’ performance in the 2024 season. Ferrari led the practice sessions, coming very close to matching Verstappen’s pace. Verstappen joked that the situation could not have been worse during the two sessions on Friday.
Furthermore, Verstappen believes that the team will address the issues from the weekend and improve soon. However, he does not hesitate to acknowledge that rival teams have made progress. Meanwhile, Red Bull had a tough day during the two initial practice sessions in Imola.
Therefore, Red Bull is likely to continue with their good performance in the 2024 season. The team just needs to identify and solve the problems quickly. Milton Keynes has been competing with Ferrari since the beginning of the season, while the Italian team tries to dethrone Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
