Marc Priestley saw Max Verstappen get ‘frustrated’ while watching Red Bull driver’s onboard camera at Imola

Red Bull star Max Verstappen was only seventh fastest in FP1 for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, as Sauber ace Gabriel Bortoleto’s crash brought the red flags out at Imola.

Brazilian rookie Bortoleto crashed nose-first into the wall after losing the rear-end of his C45 through the second Rivazza to finish a lap. The 20-year-old could not wrestle back control of the car after losing the rear on turn-in from the entry kerb with less than three minutes left.

First practice would not resume following Bortoleto’s crash, leaving McLaren with a one-two atop the timesheet for FP1. Oscar Piastri had the fastest lap to begin the Emilia Romagna GP weekend with a 1:16.545, enough to fend off teammate Lando Norris by only 0.032 seconds.

Verstappen’s best lap fell 0.360s shy of Piastri’s pace with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Mercedes’ George Russell, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly splitting the Red Bull racer from the McLaren man. Piastri and Verstappen both set their best run with the C6 soft tyres.

Marc Priestley saw Max Verstappen get ‘frustrated’ with Red Bull’s oversteer in FP1 at Imola

Former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley also saw Verstappen get visibly ‘frustrated’ during FP1 for the Emilia Romagna GP while watching the Red Bull pilot’s onboard camera at Imola. The Dutchman would not hide his feelings after struggling with oversteer during the session.

Red Bull unveiled upgrades on Verstappen’s car at Imola, but they were not enough to avoid the 27-year-old often fighting to control the rear of his RB21. Priestley even saw Verstappen bang his wheel in frustration after drifting through the second Rivazza with five minutes left.

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Priestley said on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra (16/05, 13:25): “I just said he wasn’t drifting around the track [but] he was then! That was a handful of opposite lock coming out of that final chicane. Yeah, a frustrated Max Verstappen inside the cockpit of that Red Bull.”

Red Bull have upgrades at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but are off McLaren’s pace

Red Bull’s Imola upgrades include a radical new sidepod, as well as the Milton Keynes team modifying their rear bodywork to try and help the RB21’s suspension. But Verstappen often found the limit of the RB21’s rear grip in FP1 as he and also Yuki Tsunoda struggled for pace.

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Tsunoda was only 16th in the FP1 timesheet with a lap time 0.811s off the pace that Piastri set for McLaren. Only Franco Colapinto on his Alpine debut at Imola, Oliver Bearman, Isack Hadjar and Esteban Ocon posted slower lap times than Tsunoda in the second Red Bull car.

Verstappen will hope Red Bull can dial out their oversteer before FP2 and move closer to the lap times of the McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris, who have 32 and 16-point leads over the Dutchman in the F1 drivers’ championship ahead of Sunday’s Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.