Positive signs from Red Bull after Friday’s session
Struggling in the last few Grand Prix, Red Bull seems to have found some performance this weekend in Baku. Even though the car's balance remains concerning, several reasons for hope are emerging for the Austrian team, which now has a more competitive car.
Red Bull wants to chase away doubts. The Austrian team has not won in the last six races. Worse, they have only stepped on the podium twice during this period (two second places for Verstappen in Silverstone and Zandvoort), which has allowed McLaren and Ferrari to catch up with them in the team standings. This weekend in Baku, the Milton Keynes team has decided to introduce new upgrades to make up for their delay compared to their rivals, following a Grand Prix in Italy where they seemed completely overwhelmed, with Verstappen even describing his RB17 as a monster.
Evolution this weekend for Red Bull.
In order to address this issue, Red Bull arrived this weekend with some new features, particularly located at the level of the diffuser. In the center of this piece, a sort of boat keel has now been placed, an element that resembles the one introduced by Ferrari fifteen days ago at Monza and which had allowed Charles Leclerc to win the Grand Prix. The Austrian team hopes that this new appendage can solve the many balance issues that both drivers have been complaining about for several races.
A promising Friday at Red Bull
This Friday, these developments were able to be tested and the drivers seem satisfied, Verstappen notably dominating the first free practice session. “I think overall, we had a good day,” declared the Dutch triple world champion. “We have learned a few things. Now we have to look at what we’ve tried. But so far, it seems that we are more competitive this weekend, so it’s positive.”
The Dutch driver is nevertheless aware that all the difficulties encountered will not be resolved overnight, especially on a circuit as challenging as Azerbaijan. It is very slippery and there are a lot of 90-degree turns. Sometimes you keep the brakes on for safety to avoid hitting the wall. Of course, the second session was a bit more difficult for me. We need to improve the balance and I am sure we will be competitive.
During the second free practice session, Verstappen seemed to be more in difficulty, finishing only sixth in the session, more than half a second behind leader Charles Leclerc and his teammate Sergio Perez, who seems to be regaining performance on the streets of Baku. A result that is partly due to lingering issues, with the Dutchman notably complaining on the radio about understeer, a phenomenon that the former Toro Rosso driver does not really appreciate. The Milton Keynes team will have to analyze the data collected this Friday to see if these improvements are paying off and allowing the team to remain in contention for both world titles.
