Only sixth on Friday in Madrid, Max Verstappen is not satisfied with his RB22. Red Bull has already deeply modified its settings and plans to continue in this direction.
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Red Bull is not standing still after a complicated first day at the Madring. While Mercedes and Ferrari immediately found their marks on the new Spanish circuit, the Austrian team has made multiple changes to Max Verstappen’s car and already plans to continue its work before qualifying.
Sixth in FP2, four tenths off the best time, the Dutchman never seemed completely comfortable behind the wheel of his RB22. Red Bull had approached this new circuit hoping to take advantage of the lack of historical references to start on an equal footing with its rivals. But on Friday, it was mainly Mercedes and Ferrari who impressed.
Red Bull has already extensively modified the RB22
The difficulties encountered from FP1 pushed the engineers to quickly explore different directions. Pierre Waché, Red Bull’s technical director, confirms that the setup used by Verstappen during the second session was already significantly different from that of the morning.
“We have already made many changes between FP1 and FP2. I think we will continue to explore certain avenues and will make further changes for FP3.”
Red Bull notably tested different rear wing configurations on Friday, while Verstappen complained about an unstable car exiting corners and also suffering from understeer in certain sections. The work done between the two sessions allowed some progress, but not enough to truly bring the four-time world champion closer to the best.
The team will therefore take advantage of the hours before FP3 to continue its analyses. The goal will be to find a compromise that is sufficiently competitive for qualifying without compromising the RB22’s behavior over long stints.
Several weaknesses identified
The problem does not seem limited to a particular area. Waché acknowledges that Red Bull still needs to improve mechanical grip, but also the car’s behavior over bumps. The Madring proved less consistent than simulations had suggested.
“It’s better not to be satisfied on Friday. There is still a huge amount of work to be done on the car’s setup, that’s for sure. Mechanical grip and the car’s behavior are more difficult than we thought because the track is not as smooth as expected.”
This characteristic could be particularly worrying for Red Bull. Verstappen had already explained before the weekend that bumps and curbs have been a recurring weakness of the team’s cars for several years.
Energy management also poses a problem
To these mechanical difficulties is added another important challenge: energy deployment. The Madring combines several accelerations and fast sections that force teams to precisely manage the use of electrical energy throughout the lap.
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“Regarding energy deployment, it is clear that we also have a lot of work to do.”
On a qualifying lap, poor management could cost valuable tenths in the final sections of the circuit. A problem all the more important as Mercedes seems to have a particularly efficient power unit in Madrid and Ferrari also appeared very competitive on Friday.
Red Bull will therefore have to progress simultaneously on mechanical settings and on the exploitation of its power unit to give Verstappen a real chance to fight for the front rows.
Graining more significant than expected
The tires are the other major concern. Like several teams, Red Bull noticed a higher level of graining than expected, which could have important consequences on long stints on Sunday.
“Graining may be more significant than we expected. But we were a bit better in FP2 than in FP1 and I think we need to continue in this direction.”
This slight progress explains why Red Bull is not panicking despite its position in the hierarchy. Verstappen himself had identified understanding the tires over long stints and finding more speed over a lap as the two priorities before Saturday.
Red Bull is still preparing changes
The situation therefore remains largely open before qualifying. Four tenths separated Verstappen from the reference on Friday afternoon and Red Bull believes it still has several development avenues in the RB22’s settings.
The challenge will now be to find the right solutions without getting lost in modifications. On a completely new circuit where grip evolves quickly, each change will also have to be evaluated under track conditions different from those encountered the day before.
Red Bull has already extensively revised Verstappen’s car setup between the two Friday sessions, but the work is far from over. Mechanical grip, behavior over bumps, energy deployment, and graining: the engineers have identified several weaknesses and are preparing further changes before FP3 to try to bring Verstappen back into the fight at the front.
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