Verstappen Shares His Feelings After Two Practice Sessions In Baku

F1
Friday, 13 September 2024 at 18:00
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Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen shared how he felt after FP1 and FP2 on Friday at Baku City Circuit.
There were a lot of question marks around Red Bull's performance ahead of the first two practice sessions in Azerbaijan, as the team struggled a lot during the previous race weekend in Monza.
However, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were straight on it from the first practice session. In FP1, they finished in P1 and P3. In FP2, they finished in P6 and P2 (with Sergio Perez only six thousands of a second behind the fastest by Charles Leclerc).
Speaking after the second practice session, Max Verstappen suggested he felt quite positive. As reported by RacingNews365, he said:
"I think overall, we had a good day. We learned a few things. Now, we have to look back at what we tried. But so far, it seems like we are more competitive this weekend, so that's positive."
Red Bull tends to run their power units at lower power output during practice sessions, so being super competitive already in FP1 and FP2 should be a good sign for all the fans of the team from Milton Keynes.
Max Verstappen, in his RB20, enters the narrow 'Castle section' at turn eight of the Baku City Circuit, with fortress walls in the background.
Max Verstappen entering the "Castle Section" of the Baku City Circuit

Understeer Problems and Near Crash

Speaking on the radio during the Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing F1 driver complained about having understeer in the middle of the corners.
He also came very close to breaking his front wing as he locked up going into turn number 5 during the FP2 session. He locked up and was uncontrollably sliding towards the wall in front of him, but fortunately, his car stopped centimeters away, and the Dutchman escaped without damage to his car.
"It's very slippery, and there are a lot of 90-degree corners. Sometimes, you keep the brakes on as a precaution to avoid hitting the wall."
"Of course, FP2 was a bit more difficult for me. We need to get the balance a bit better, and then I'm sure we can be competitive."