A Red Bull says the “very impressive” pace of Ferrari in free practice for the Australian GP Formula 1 shows that they need to get more performance.
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Charles Leclerc was the fastest overall in the second free practice at Albert Park, finishing the session 0.381 seconds ahead of the world championship leader, Max Verstappen. But while Red Bull believes single-lap form is obscured by teams using different engine modes, they believe Ferrari’s challenge is real based on their strong race simulations.
Speaking to Sky GermanyRed Bull’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Markosaid: “We need to make improvements. The car is not bad, but Leclerc has set a pace that still needs a lot of adjustment, I think. In general, it has to be said that the grid is getting closer.”
Asked whether Ferrari were flattered by the engine modes, Marko said: “I think Ferrari drove at full power in the qualifying simulation. Not us. That’s why I don’t see the three tenths [de diferença] as something critical. But the long run was very impressive. Our configuration is not yet correct.”
Verstappen’s form in second practice was also hampered by the fact that he lost track time early on as a result of necessary repairs to his car following a curb strike in first practice.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Marko added: “It has to be said: he touched a curb and that contact caused relatively large damage. That’s why we left later. We lost precious time. But I think the setup is going in the right direction. However, the The 15 minutes we ended up losing meant it wasn’t what we imagined.”
Verstappen himself said the lost time meant Red Bull did not stick to its full program.
“Unfortunately [foi] a little confused because of what happened in FP1,” he said. “I went to the side, damaged the floor and also the chassis, so it took a little longer to fix that, unfortunately. So I lost about 20 minutes.”
“But I think the turnaround was very quick, which we did as a team, so I more or less completed the program still. In the long run, I would have liked to have done a few more laps, but we were losing 20 minutes, that’s how it was.”
And although Ferrari appears to be in good form based on the first day of action, Verstappen was far from alarmed about things.
“I think it went well,” said the Dutchman. “I think the Ferrari is fast, but on our side, I think there are also a few more things we can adjust. So, nothing crazy, nothing worrying. I think, yes, we just need to adjust the car a little bit.”
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