Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in FP2 for the F1 Mexico City GP; however, he expressed concern over his upgraded car’s inconsistency during longer runs.
The Dutchman stepped into his RB21 for the first time of the weekend in FP2 after Red Bull Junior Team driver Arvid Lindblad completed his second rookie test in Verstappen’s car during FP1.
Red Bull had added upgrades to the 28-year-old’s RB21 to aid cooling around the high-altitude Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and to give the team a competitive boost in the Constructors’ Championship. The fight remains tight — with just ten points separating Red Bull in P4 from Mercedes in P2, while Ferrari holds P3.
Long runs “a big concern for the race”
Even though Verstappen finished FP2 at the top of the timesheets, he attributed the result to a strong short run on soft tyres. However, according to the reigning world champion, “everything else was pretty bad”
When asked about his practice day, Verstappen answered, “Yeah, I mean, of course, a bit of a long wait for the day, but the short run, I think on the soft, we managed to do a good lap.”
He continued, “The rest, everything else was pretty bad. On the medium, the short run was not great. And the big problem is the long runs, where we seem to struggle a lot. So that is, of course, a big concern for the race.“
Verstappen does not know exactly why the car was inconsistent between short and long runs in Mexico City. The Dutch driver did note the lack of grip on track but hopes “to sort out as well.”
“I don’t know yet. The balance wasn’t even off. There was just no grip. That is the bigger concern. So as soon as you go in a sustainable run, tyres are going hot, yeah, we were nowhere. So that’s a tough one, I think, to sort out as well, but we’ll see.“
The 28-year-old knows that topping the timesheets in practice does not necessarily translate to race performance. With Verstappen still in the championship fight, he admitted he prefers strong race pace over good one-lap performances.
“You’re not going to win the race like that. You can be fast over one lap, but if you have absolutely zero pace in the race, then it’s going to be very tough. So I prefer to be fast in the race and not so fast over one lap.“
Tsunoda “fairly happy” despite limitations
On the other side of the garage, Yuki Tsunoda had a “fairly happy” Friday in Mexico City, participating in both free practice sessions. However, the Japanese driver echoed Verstappen’s comments about the upgraded RB21’s balance and long-run struggles.
“Fairly happy with this Friday, I would say. It’s been a while that I had this kind of overall quite consistent Friday, overall. So I’m pretty happy with it. I think something we can improve, especially in the long run, but also in the short run as well. But I’m reasonably in a better position, I would say, so far on the Friday.”
The two Red Bull drivers appear aligned in their assessments, both identifying an “outstanding limitation” in the car’s handling that needs to be addressed ahead of qualifying and Sunday’s race. With Ferrari appearing particularly strong at traditional tracks, ironing out this imbalance could prove crucial in Red Bull’s pursuit of points in the Constructors’ standings.
When asked about the shared limitation, Tsunoda responded, “Yeah, it’s not easy. A lot of things that we have to look at and something to optimise for sure for tomorrow. Yeah, I mean, generally balance is okay. Struggling mainly with one outstanding limitation, but I think it was kind of traditional for this track, and especially the Ferrari seems good at those things. So we have to find that compromise and I think whatever we can increase the strength of the car, we try to look at it.”
