Verstappen Suggests Mercedes 'Turned Up Engines' After Dominant FP2

Friday, 01 March 2024 at 07:30

Max Verstappen shared his initial thoughts after P6 in an equally matched Free Practice 2 session at Bahrain International Circuit.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen scored a P6 in both FP1 and FP2 sessions on Thursday ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

During the FP1 session, the Dutchman complained quite a lot about the balance of the car, but nevertheless, his time was very decent on the Medium compound tires.

During the FP2 session, he still struggled with quite a few issues but seemed to be closer to the ideal setup. However, during his fastest lap, the Dutchman was almost half a second short of Lewis Hamilton at the finish line.

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'It's Shock': Hamilton Reacts To Surprising Pace Mercedes Showed In FP2

Mercedeses of Hamilton and his teammate George Russell surprised everyone as they were nowhere to be seen during FP1 and the pre-season testing. But the German team shows they also could be a contender for race wins.

Nevertheless, the triple World Champion didn't seem to be too concerned as he suggested the pace could be gained by simply turning up the engine, which is not something his team has done so far, apparently. He told Sky Sports:

“"I think it was not too bad. It just was very close. Maybe some people around us have already turned up the engine a bit in terms of top speed. But we just focus on ourselves."”

Red Bull Racing driver also discussed how his aim was to find the sweet spot in terms of set up as he believes that is going to enable him to gain the most lap time. He added:

“"From today, there were a few balance issues from front or rear, but nothing big. It's just about trying to find out that sweet sport."”

“"Especially around here with that rough tarmac, once you get into that sweet spot, you just pick up time, and that's what we'll try to focus on a little bit more for tomorrow."”