Max Verstappen still searching for rhythm after 's***' start in Bahrain
Max Verstappen still searching for rhythm after 's***' start in Bahrain
It was not all plain sailing for Max Verstappen and Red Bull on Friday as the reigning world champion endured a trying start to the 2023 F1 season in Bahrain.
The 25-year-old Dutchman claimed P3 behind team-mate Sergio Perez in FP1 before moving up to a spot to P2 behind the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in the evening session.
It would be fair to say things could only improve in that second session for Verstappen after a challenging start to his bid for a hat-trick of world titles.
Tough start for Verstappen in the RB19
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko said there were problems with the RB19 in FP1, revealing: "In Max's case there was a big change in the behaviour of the car, something we can't explain at the moment".
The problem continued in the second session with Verstappen venting his frustration on team radio as he told his team: "I feel like I'm bouncing all over the place, this is really shit".
Eventually things did improve in Verstappen's long run, before he explained the ups and downs of his day once FP2 had been completed.
Verstappen reflects on Friday practice
"We had a difficult start to the day. The first FP was really bad, I couldn't find a balance. That was a bit strange because in testing, whatever we tried wasn't as bad as today. So a few things we need to understand.
"Also the start of FP2 was a bit tricky, even with little reference and confidence up to that point, the last run wasn't bad, the car felt a bit better, overall the car wasn't bad at all in the long run.
"I was a bit surprised that we had this speed. I just need to find my rhythm with the car again. It was a bad start to the day, but we are moving in the right direction again."
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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