Eventful FP2 for the Dutchman
Max Verstappen finished Friday’s free practice in Australia in sixth position, six tenths behind Oscar Piastri. The Red Bull driver had to compress his work program in FP2 after losing a good twenty minutes following technical problems encountered immediately when he stopped at the end of the pit lane right after leaving the pits.
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In the end, Verstappen then went off track at high speed during the long run, damaging the floor of his Red Bull RB22. Over the radio, Verstappen told his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase that he was satisfied with the car’s behavior in high-speed corners, while the feeling in low-speed ones was not what he desired.
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“In FP1 we completed a good number of laps, while in FP2 we encountered some problems – Verstappen said – we are working to fine-tune the car, we had some difficulties with grip and we even ended up in the gravel. We didn’t have a perfect day, but in terms of pace we are where I expected us to be. There is still a lot of work to do and we will analyze what worked and what we can improve overnight.”
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