Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda break down their Friday running following FP2 for the F1 Italian Grand Prix in Monza. With strong performances from both drivers, the Milton Keynes based outfit seem a lot more competitive than last season.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen enjoyed a positive Friday in Monza ahead of the F1 Italian GP, finishing P4 in FP1 and P6 in FP2. Having struggled through the weekend last season, Verstappen’s pace showed a marked improvement.
Speaking after the FP2 session, Verstappen explained he has been much happier with the car throughout Friday practice. His strong performances came amidst what he described as difficult sessions as drivers’ pushed the limits.
“It’s been quite decent,” Verstappen summarised in the media pen. “Last year for us, this was a very difficult weekend and I think we seem a lot more competitive. I’ve been happier with the car as well.
“The sessions have been quite difficult also with people going off and putting a lot of gravel on the track. But overall it’s been quite a decent Friday for us.”
When pushed on the issue of gravel being dragged on track, Verstappen explained the danger of a difficult track surface. With the session being red flagged on one occasion to clear gravel, Verstappen was asked what the best approach would be for the remainder of the weekend.
“I guess in qualifying they will stop it,” Verstappen considered. “In the race it’s tricky. I had a lap in my race run where someone went off and I was the first to arrive. Honestly, it was like driving in the wet with slicks, I almost went off myself because there was so much gravel.
“We need to have a look because it’s not easy to keep it under control. If someone goes off and comes on, it also damages the floor for everyone because they’re quite aggressive, these stones. So we’ll have a look at what we can do.”
On the other side of the Red Bull garage, Yuki Tsunoda shared his feelings on his RB21. Having finished FP2 in P9, 2 tenths shy of his teammate, Tsunoda claimed the short run pace was positive. The Japanese driver admitted he was surprised by his soft tyre pace during the session.
Despite this, he claimed there was still work to do ahead of qualifying and Sunday’s F1 Grand Prix. Reflecting on Friday’s sessions he noted the race pace of the Red Bull as a concern to be addressed.
“Up and down,” Tsunoda said, summing up his Friday running. “I think it ended up pretty positive for FP2. The pace was pretty good. We have to find out why to be honest. I picked up so much grip on the soft run, I didn’t expect that to be honest with the pace, so we have to find out why. Considering also you may have traffic, it was a pretty good lap.
“[We’ll] continue digging into that soft run and for the long run it’s in a place where it’s still lacking pace. We have to balance between short and long runs. The long run is a little bit off so, yeah, a bit more focus on that.”
