Max Verstappen goes into the rest of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend knowing he will be starting from the back of the field following multiple engine component changes and penalties, but he did not let this faze him across the two practice sessions on Friday.
The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver finished third in the first session at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday before leading the way in the second, and the reigning World Champion was in high spirits as it appeared the car was working well across all conditions.
Verstappen admitted he did not push as hard as he could have done when it began to rain, but he hopes the weather stays away from Belgium on Saturday and Sunday as he knows he has a lot of work to do to break into the top ten.
“From the first laps we did today I could feel that the car was working well, so that’s positive,” said Verstappen, who goes into the weekend with an eighty point lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
“Not much really changed throughout the sessions, we just looked at how we could set up the car in the best possible way and I think as soon as we went out, the car was looking pretty good. Of course, there are always things that we want to fine tune, like the balance, but we can work on that.
“When it started to rain, I of course didn’t push as much, hopefully today was the worst of it so we should have some cleaner sessions.”
“We didn’t have the rhythm out there today” – Sergio Pérez
With Verstappen starting at the back, Red Bull will have hopes that team-mate Sergio Pérez can lead from the front, but it was not a great Friday for the Mexican.
Pérez ended tenth fastest in both sessions, no where near where Red Bull would hope he would be, and he admitted he was unable to find the kind of rhythm needed to set a competitive lap time in either session.
Despite looking out of sorts on the short run pace, Pérez still feels he is in contention this weekend, particularly over the longer runs, and he is looking to take his RB18 to the front of the field on Saturday.
“We didn’t have the rhythm out there today and part of that was down to the conditions, but we also had a little issue with the rear wing, so we stopped for some time but that was resolved,” said Pérez.
“Our time on track wasn’t ideal today due to the weather, especially on the final lap of FP2 on the soft tyre when things were a bit on the damper side. As soon as you get a damp corner you fully lose the balance on the track and it is very hard to learn anything.
“We will see what we are able to pick up in the data but I think we are looking good and can be competitive, so we just have to make sure we get everything right for qualifying and the race.
“Driving on this track is always very enjoyable so I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
Sergio Pérez was only tenth fastest in both session on Friday – Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images