Red Bull does not see itself as dominant as in Bahrain

This Friday, Max Verstappen finished at the top in both Free Practice sessions, while his teammate achieved the second fastest time in FP1 and the third fastest in FP2.

Currently in great shape since the beginning of the season, the Dutch driver was satisfied with his sessions even though there is still work to do. “We had a positive day, but I think there are still quite a few things that I believe we can do better,” says the Dutch driver. The double world champion highlights that the gap has narrowed with his rivals on the long runs. At the end of the second practice session, 11 drivers were within a second of each other. “In the long term, I think everything seemed quite close to each other, but it’s more due to tire management… With a low degradation circuit, I think the lap times are all very close, so it’s certainly not like Bahrain,” Verstappen points out.

Is Red Bull beatable on Sunday?

The Red Bull team seems less serene despite a thunderous start to the season. During the second practice session, Max Verstappen complained about a downshifting problem on his car, which had already appeared in the race two weeks ago. Regarding this, Verstappen pointed out that they simply needed to fine-tune things with downshifts. On his part, Pérez revealed that he also experienced a mechanical issue in the second session: “We had a small problem with the car mechanically, which we hope to be able to fix by tomorrow,” says the Mexican. For now, Fernando Alonso seems to be the only one capable of truly challenging Red Bull for pole position, as they finished third and second in the practice sessions. However, the Austrian team expects their rivals to close in: “Overall, we seem to be strong, but the competition is there as expected. I expect some of the rival teams to step up tomorrow,” says Sergio Pérez.