Verstappen Hints FP2 Issue Might Have Implications On Rest Of Season

Saturday, 08 June 2024 at 14:00

Speaking to the media after the FP2 on Friday, ahead of the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen discussed the issue that interrupted his practice session earlier.

The ninth round of the season at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is shaping to be a very difficult weekend for all the drivers and their teams.

The conditions are unpredictable and changing every second, and drivers haven't yet run on a completely dry track, which makes it difficult for them to set up cars.

It also seems impossible to tell whether there will be rain during the qualifying session and the race on Sunday, so it's a lottery in terms of which setup to go for.

Most drivers managed to get a few laps in on a semi-dry circuit during a small window in FP2 on Friday, but Max Verstappen wasn't one of them, as he suffered an issue and had to bring his car into the pits.

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The 26-year-old completed only ten laps in FP1 and even less in FP2- four laps. However, he couldn't do anything more because smoke was coming out of the back of his car, which usually indicates a severe problem. He told the media:

"Yeah, unfortunately, FP2 not many laps for me. There was a suspected electrical issue, so they told me to box, and they're investigating now. I haven't been back in the garage yet, but I'm sure soon we'll figure out what it is."

Red Bull Racing later confirmed they were investigating an ERS problem on the car. Although Verstappen would like to get more laps in, he was wary of the importance of solving the issue, as it might have implications for the rest of the season.

"It's not ideal, I would have liked to drive more laps. Some other people had a few more laps in the dry, a few more laps now in the wet, so it's definitely not how I would have liked to get on in FP2."

"But I think it's more important to just figure out what actually happened and what kind of implications that will have for this weekend or the rest of the year."