Max Verstappen fears Red Bull is on the back foot following Friday practice at Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix.
After sitting out FP1 as Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad got some regulations-induced track time ahead of his likely graduation to F1 in 2026, Verstappen topped the second session by 0.153s over Charles Leclerc, outpacing title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by 0.251s and 0.840s respectively.
This was down to a quick lap when it came to qualifying simulations, but long runs paint a darker picture for Red Bull, according to Verstappen.
“The short run on the soft, we managed to do a good lap,” the Dutchman commented. “The rest, everything else was pretty bad. The medium short run was not great, and the big problem is the long runs, where we seem to struggle a lot. So that is, of course, a big concern for the race.”
As he was nearing the end of a 12-lap run stint on already 12-lap-old mediums, Verstappen was heard on the radio complaining about his car’s behaviour, lamenting: “It’s terrible, I have no grip, it’s like driving on ice.”
Subsequently asked what might be causing those issues, a baffled Verstappen replied: “I don’t know yet. The balance wasn’t even off.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
‘It was just no grip – that is the bigger concern. As soon as you go in a sustainable run, tyres are going hot. We were nowhere. So that’s a tough one to sort out as well.”
Furthermore, the Red Bull driver was adamant that his single-lap pace wouldn’t suffice for him to clinch victory on Sunday.
Verstappen did snatch victories this year before his RB21’s resurgence, thanks to very marginal pole positions and impeccable Sunday drives on Suzuka and Imola tracks where overtaking is tricky. Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez can’t be described as such.
“You’re not going to win the race like that,” he insisted. “You can be fast over one lap, but if you have absolutely zero pace in the race, then it’s going to be very tough. So I prefer to be fast in the race and not so fast over one lap.”
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko shared Verstappen’s analysis of the team’s situation in Mexico: “We saw this sort of non-grip. As you said, it was like ice. And you saw he was quite a bit sideways as well.
“We have to find something. Otherwise, against Norris and also the Ferraris and Mercedes, it will be more than difficult.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
He added: “For the qualifying heat, we were competitive. We were also far more competitive on the soft tyre – still not as good as Norris.
“On long runs, the way Norris was going, he’s just pulling away. If it stays like that, he’ll be gone.”
Marko did find solace in the fact that current championship runner-up Norris significantly outpaced his team-mate, championship leader Piastri, who was six tenths off the lead McLaren in FP2.
“The good thing is, Norris seems to be, again, much more competitive than Piastri,” the Austrian pointed out. “So, it’s a long race, let’s see what happens.”
Additional reporting by Ronald Vording
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– The Autosport.com Team
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