Max Verstappen admits some changes need to be made after a disappointing FP2 in Hungary, but isn’t too worried.
The Dutchman made the ideal start to the weekend in Budapest, topping FP1 just ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
Things didn’t go so well in the afternoon session though, with him finishing in P3 comfortably behind both Mercedes drivers and being unhappy with the balance of his car, complaining on the team radio.
He puts such issues down to the fact that the track temperatures were extremely high throughout FP2, reaching 64’C, and isn’t too worried on the whole.
“Just a few adjustments we were trying from FP1 to FP2 so just need to look into which things worked and which things didn’t,” the Red Bull driver told Sky Sports.
“You know the track was also very hot so it’s never easy like that but yeah, we’ll see.
“[We need to improve] especially over one lap but also in the long run, so a lot of things to look into, but nothing shocking.”
Mercedes looked comfortably stronger than Red Bull in FP2, with Bottas and Hamilton both going just under three-tenths of a second faster than Verstappen while Sergio Perez finished in P8, over eight-tenths off the pacesetters.
While it seems like a big gap though, Verstappen is certain that his team can close it if they find the right setup for the business end of the weekend.
“It’s nothing too big to overcome,” he added.
“It’s just in general not an easy day with track temperatures like this so we’ll analyse everything.”
The flag falls for Friday 🏁 Max ends FP2 in P3 with a 1:17.310 and Checo finishes P5 with a 1:17.824 💪 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/bMccFYkkm9
— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) July 30, 2021
It wasn’t the best of days for the other Red Bull with Perez only managing P8 in the morning before taking P5 in FP2.
He admits that he doesn’t feel comfortable in the car, but nevertheless still believes that he can be in the mix by the time that qualifying comes around.
“I’m not fully comfortable with the car,” said the Mexican.
“We’ve made good steps from not expecting these kind of conditions, so just reading conditions better and getting a better lap.
“Traffic was critical on my lap as well, so I think there’s plenty to play for tomorrow still. I’m looking forward to it.
“We’ve got a pretty good idea of which steps we have to take, so I’m optimistic for the rest of the weekend.”
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