Max Verstappen’s pre-race concerns that Oracle Red Bull Racing would not be that competitive this weekend at the Hungaroring appeared to be correct after he struggled for performance on Friday, at least compared to their main rivals at Scuderia Ferrari.
Verstappen finished second behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in the opening session in Hungary, but he slipped to fourth in the second as Charles Leclerc topped the session with Sainz third – McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris also found his way ahead of the Dutchman in second.
Verstappen says it will be hard to beat Ferrari this weekend based on the form from Friday, but they will be looking to improve the feeling and pace of the RB18 overnight in a bid to close the gap.
“As expected, it was a bit tricky around here today, we were trying to find the right balance from high to low speed, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t – there’s a bit of work to do,” said Verstappen.
“I think the Ferraris will be ahead of us this weekend and it will be hard to beat them. We’ll work hard overnight and try and close that gap as much as we can.
“The weather looks like it will have an impact on us tomorrow. In the dry we might struggle to compete, but it could be a different story in the rain; who knows, we will see tomorrow.”
“Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to show what we have learned” – Sergio Pérez
Team-mate Sergio Pérez had a mediocre day in the second RB18, ending only sixth in the first session and a lowly ninth in the second.
The Mexican admitted he was trying to get comfortable with the car during the day at the Hungaroring, but despite his relatively under par day, he feels they have a ‘good understanding’ of where to go with the set-up across the rest of the weekend.
“We were trying various bits to get comfortable with the car today and I think we have got a good idea and understanding of things, so hopefully tomorrow we will be able to show what we have learned,” said Pérez.
“That should transfer to both high and low fuel pace and I am fairly optimistic for the weekend, but the Ferraris certainly look very strong.
“They are very fast but rain tomorrow could mix things up a bit and we can be up there with them. We must put everything together tomorrow for qualifying and I am looking forward to it.”
Sergio Pérez was only sixth and ninth across the two sessions in Hungary on Friday – Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd