How many problems at Santerno
It was already clear from the body language inside the cockpit and from his radio teams – as well as from the response of the stopwatch – that Max Verstappen was far from satisfied with his Friday in Imola. The world champion confirmed these sensations to the television microphones once the FP2 session ended, expressing – as is his habit without particular filters – his annoyance at an RB20 which surprisingly does not seem to respond to his commands.
“It’s hard to do worse”
The weekend is still very long, but rarely in the last year and a half have we seen Verstappen in such difficulty compared to his direct competition, who instead seems decidedly lively both with McLaren and above all with Ferrari, relaunched by the updates introduced on the SF- 24. “There was no balance in the car – declared the #1 of the Red Bull team on TV – I didn’t feel comfortable. In reality it went really badly, even the long run. What if I think things will be better tomorrow? It’s difficult for it to get worse than today.”
Tomorrow the hunt for pole
The poor feeling with the car was also demonstrated by the numerous exits made by Verstappen in both FP1 and FP2, in the Acque Minerali section but also in the Variante Alta and Rivazza. A trickle of rather unusual gravel excursions for the Hasselt champion. Tomorrow the FP3 and above all the qualifying could provide the real litmus test of the Imola weekend for the idol of the Orange public.
