Max Verstappen had hinted as much in the interviews on Thursday and so it was on Friday. Imola is a complex track, where many aspects need to be brought together and, at least on this first day of free practice on the track on the Santerno bank, the RB20 has not impressed so far.
Even last year, the Red Bull was often not the most effective car on curbs and in very slow corners, but it had such a large advantage that it was able to make up for it. In fact, it is no mystery that last winter, as also confirmed by the drivers, the team also focused its attention on improving these two aspects, which can make the difference in Imola.
Considering that bollards have also been removed at certain points on the circuit, it is now even more fundamental to find the right overall balance. You need a soft car to attack the curbs, but also a firm one for medium and high speed corners, without forgetting how crucial it is to find the correct ground clearance: today many drivers complained about the constant bouncing due to the various bumps along the road. track.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen did not hide his disappointment at the end of the first day, aware that he had not yet found the ideal feeling with his RB20, similar to what occurred in Miami a few weeks ago. “It was a difficult day. I didn’t feel comfortable in the car, the car was moving a lot and then it becomes very easy to lose the car. We therefore have some things to review, because today went decidedly badly, we didn’t feel comfortable.”
“The long run was really bad too. We definitely need to improve some things if we want to be competitive tomorrow. Today we were very far away,” Verstappen explained during the interviews given after the end of the second free practice session, in which he finished with the seventh final time, over half a second from the top.
Giving Red Bull the win, however, would be a big mistake, because over time they have demonstrated on several occasions how between Friday and Saturday they manage to find corrective measures that allow them to take steps forward. Undoubtedly, however, starting from a base that has not provided the desired results, as confirmed by Verstappen’s various errors throughout the day, will require more work. Especially in the first session, the one where he started with the setup that arrived at the factory, the Dutchman made some mistakes, denoting difficulties especially in the Mineral Waters area. Looking at the references from FP2, part of the gap accumulated from the top comes precisely from that area, but also from the route of the Tosa.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“I guess it can’t be worse than what we saw today, right? For this reason, we will evaluate some things we can improve for tomorrow. But yes, it seems that others have taken a step forward. And it was just a bad day on our part,” added the three-time world champion on the night work that will await the Milton Keynes team.
Verstappen was also annoyed by an episode with Lewis Hamilton, who hindered him at the Villeneuve chicane before the Tosa, so much so that he immediately expressed his disappointment while still in the car. “It’s not the first time this has happened,” Verstappen said of what happened with Hamilton.
“We obviously try to always keep calm. But yes, it happened again. But on the other hand I don’t want to talk about it too much, because that’s not our problem today”, then cut short Verstappen, who clearly wants to move his concentration on being able to find a setup more suitable for the track in view of qualifying.
