Red Bull Faces Balance Issues and Performance Woes

Verstappen and Pérez express frustration after Red Bull’s challenging first session in Abu Dhabi, citing poor balance and a lack of pace.

Max Verstappen was not very optimistic after the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Dutch driver failed to get the best out of his Red Bull during the only session he participated in, having handed over his seat to Isack Hadjar for FP1.

“To be honest, I don’t have a very good balance. There’s no balance between the entry and the middle of the corner, which makes it hard to attack. It’s something we need to work on tonight,” Verstappen said.

“I’m sure we can do better. I’m not saying we’ll be on McLaren’s level, as they seem very fast this weekend, but at least if we can fight for the top 6, that will be a good recovery, because so far, it’s been quite tricky.”

Sergio Pérez also admits Red Bull is struggling at the moment: “It was tricky, difficult on a single lap. We’ve got work to do, the long runs look more promising, but on a single lap, we need to connect with the car.”

“We tried the softs but nothing is coming together. The car isn’t really bad, it’s just slow on a single lap. There’s work to be done. The car is very different with fuel. We need to make sure we work to stay competitive.”

Isack Hadjar (photo below) had a rather complicated day in the RB20, due to a poorly prepared driving position at the start of Free Practice 1. However, he then perfectly carried out Verstappen’s running plan.

“Today was an intense session, but I really enjoyed it. We had an excellent run plan, and I managed to complete more laps than in previous sessions.”

“It didn’t start very well, and we had a small spin at the beginning because I was a bit timid on the brakes. However, I improved fairly quickly, and I’m pleased with my performance over the long runs, and I was also more competitive over the short runs.”

“It was my fourth time behind the wheel of an F1 today, so I still feel quite inexperienced, and I feel I could have pushed the car’s limits even further. I learned a lot, and after driving an F1, I go back to F2 much more slowly, even though it’s incredibly physical! Overall, I’m really happy with my day: I delivered much better performances and made progress compared to my previous test sessions.”