Happy with FP1 today. Unfortunately, the weather hindered us to run during FP2. Thanks to all the fans who came out today 🇯🇵. Hope to see you all again tomorrow! 💪
Verstappen Shares His Thoughts Ahead Of Saturday FP3 And Qualifying In Japan
F1Friday, 05 April 2024 at 18:00
Max Verstappen seemed comfortable in his car during the first practice, and he confirmed it, saying he felt "quite happy" after the session.
The triple World Champion comes to Suzuka for redemption after losing his win streak due to a technical issue at Albert Park Circuit during the third round of the 2024 season.
Verstappen previously struggled with his car's setup in the opening practice sessions of the first three Grand Prix weekends, but this time around, Red Bull Racing seems to have hit the ground running.
Red Bull's motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, told ORF after the session that the upgraded car that Red Bull brought to Suzuka Circuit behaved exactly as predicted. Verstappen told the media:
"It was a good start for us today. The bounce wasn't too far out and I felt comfortable with the car. There are still a few things to try and look at but, overall, it was a good FP1."
The Austrian team was one of the few teams that didn't run any of their cars during the second practice session due to the damp track, which didn't reflect the conditions that they expected for the race on Sunday.
"In FP2, we couldn't do anything, which was a shame as this means that we don't know the long run pace, but we can't do anything about the weather."
Charles Leclerc in Ferrari showed a strong race pace during his two stints on hard compound tires, and Carlos Sainz, on softs, put in a lap only two-tenths slower than Verstappen's best.
Clearly, the competition is closer to Red Bull than last year. Nevertheless, Verstappen remains confident and looks forward to the race around one of his favorite circuits. He added:
"Looks like everyone is a bit closer compared to last year, and I don't expect the same kind of gaps here at this track."
"There are a few things that we still want to look at tomorrow, but overall I felt quite happy with what we had and the laps that we did."
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