Max Verstappen and Red Bull struggled on the opening day of the Formula 1 season at the Australian Grand Prix. Verstappen begun the defence of his title after winning the last four in succession.
The Dutchman was only seventh fastest in FP2, more than six-tenths of a second off the pace set by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Somewhat damningly, Verstappen was also slower than Racing Bulls duo Yuki Tsunoda (fourth) and Isack Hadjar (sixth).
He completed less mileage than his rivals on the high-fuel runs as he made set-up changes at the front of his car. That was a clear sign that he wasn’t happy.
Worse still, new teammate Liam Lawson finished the session down in 17th place. He was a further six-tenths back from Verstappen and 1.2s off the overall benchmark.
Lawson had repeatedly emphasised in the lead-up to the race that he needed time because he hadn’t previously driven the circuit. The key goal on Friday was to adapt.
Verstappen was fifth in FP1, closer to the fastest time but still nearly half a second adrift of 2024 title rival Lando Norris. Lawson was P16 in the first hour of running.
Martin Brundle notices Max Verstappen grappling with oversteer at Australian Grand Prix
At the start of FP2, Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle watched the drivers circulate from a vantage point at turn one. He said the car that looked the most unstable was Verstappen’s Red Bull.
The Dutchman had to correct a ‘massive’ slide when pushing through the high-speed chicane. There was an improvement when he next arrived, but the RB21 was still ‘loose’.
Later in the session, the teams bolted on soft tyres for qualifying simulations. Verstappen had to back out of his first lap after experiencing glaring understeer at turns one and three.
- READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
While he can deal with a tail-happy car, Verstappen is ‘allergic’ to understeer. It could be an animated debrief for the reigning world champion.
“The car that I’ve seen struggle most through here was Max Verstappen in the Red Bull actually,” Brundle said. “He had a massive swapper in the middle and really had to hoover the car up.
“It looked a little bit better that time, but it was still slightly loose at the back of the car.”
Max Verstappen makes his feelings clear to Red Bull media team over TikTok appearances
Ted Kravitz was ‘optimistic’ Verstappen could compete with McLaren after hearing his comments on Thursday’s media day. He’d indicated that the team could improve on their underwhelming showing in testing because Albert Park is a very different circuit to Bahrain.
But as it stands, Verstappen may be one of those hoping for rain in Sunday’s race. He produced a masterclass the last time there was a downpour in Sao Paolo, and his supreme talent typically comes to the fore in those conditions.
There’s been a slight air of frustration from the 27-year-old so far. He had to enter damage limitation mode before the halfway point of last season to defend his championship lead.
Verstappen won’t take part in ‘nonsense’ videos for Red Bull’s TikTok account this season. He’s told the media team he’d prefer to adopt a more serious demeanour during a race weekend.
