It's only Free Practice, but the standings for the second running session of the weekend in Las Vegas showed a scathing result for Red Bull. Max Verstappen only finished in 17th place, two small ranks ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez.
Several factors can explain this performance deficit, including a different running program for the Austrian team compared to the other teams, but the main one is the choice of the wrong rear wing for this weekend. In a straight line, the RB20 loses six tenths on the others.
Problem according to Helmut Marko, the Milton Keynes team does not have another wing on hand in the City of Vice. “ We don't have another rear wing, a smaller rear wing, as we can see from our competitors “, explained the Red Bull motorsport advisor. The latter also denied the possibility of bringing another model of fin from the other side of the Atlantic.
Despite these difficulties, the result of Free Practice 2 remains to be taken with a grain of salt, because the Red Bulls did not use soft tires during this session. Verstappen, for his part, complained about the lack of grip. “ It was slippery, confirmed the three-time world champion. I think we had a lot of trouble getting the tires to work, especially on one lap. »
« The long relay started a little more competitively, but even then I think we need to tweak a few things, continues the Dutchman. The pace over one lap is quite far. The conditions are special here and it's very cold, but it's the same for everyone. So we have to try to understand what we are doing wrong right now. »
« For me, it's mostly related to the tires, insists number 1. The balanceThe car's grip isn't that bad, it's just that we don't have any grip. It's like driving on ice. »
Meet at 3:30 a.m. Friday night for Free Practice 3 of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
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