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Max Verstappen said he lacked the “confidence” to fully commit to driving the Suzuki RB21 after the first day of practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen was fifth fastest in the first practice session, more than half a second behind the fastest time set by Lando Norris.
The second practice session was interrupted by four red flags, which limited Verstappen to just nine laps, and he was still more than half a second slower than the fastest driver – this time Oscar Piastre in a McLaren.
The Suzuki’s fast corners require maximum commitment, and Verstappen believes he doesn’t have a car that allows him that approach at the moment.
“Today was quite a difficult day for me because I was trying a lot of different things on the car,” Verstappen said after the first day of the race weekend at Suzuki.
“But it seems like a lot of things are not working right at the moment, and it’s quite difficult to put together a good lap.”
“It takes a lot of confidence and dedication here, and I don’t feel like I can use that right now, so we have a lot of work to do.”
A completely different situation for Red Bull and Verstappen compared to last year.
Max Verstappen.
Verstappen’s concerns are in stark contrast to his previous performances at Suzuki. In 2022, he won his second title at this legendary track, while last year he dominated and won by a margin of 12.5 seconds over then-teammate Sergio Perez. He now faces a battle to finish in the top five in qualifying to put himself in a better position to win a podium in Sunday’s race.
The complete reversal of fortunes at Suzuki means other teams are now in with a chance of winning the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull’s search for a solution extends to the other side of the garage, where Yuki Tsunoda has become Verstappen’s third teammate in just four races.
Verstappen stated that Red Bull's problems stem from the car, not the driver in the second seat, and his priority is to solve those problems.
English (US)