Verstappen appears to be heading for disaster weekend with 'uncontrollable' Red Bull

Shortly before the end of the second free practice, Jos Verstappen entered the Red Bull Racing garage from the back. Staring straight ahead and responding to the remark that there was a lot of work to be done, he said with some cynicism: “A little.”

Just a few minutes later, the former F1 driver left the pit box again, followed by Laurent Mekies who also bypassed the waiting media. No interviews were given, they went straight upstairs where Pierre Waché - the technical boss of the Austrian team - was seated. Undoubtedly, there was a lot to discuss at that table, also later with Verstappen who joined the table.

Christian Horner may have left, and while the atmosphere at Red Bull remains excellent, the sporting problems are still present. What's more, the Hungaroring near Budapest painfully highlights just how difficult Red Bull finds it to get the RB21 into the correct operating window.

During the free practices, Max Verstappen frequently complained, as he's done so often before, about the lack of balance in his car. The Dutchman also struggled with understeer. No matter how good the driver - and Max Verstappen is excellent - he can't win such a fight with a car. “Uncontrollable,” he even called his car.

So, there's no doubt that mechanics of the Austrian team have a significant workload, with the hope of finding a solution for Verstappen's problems ahead of the last free practice on Saturday. Is that realistic? Before the weekend - even before any sessions had taken place - there was already a strong suspicion that it would be very tough in Hungary.

No doubt, the confirmation of this put Helmut Marko in a foul mood, usually the person who speaks with the media on Friday afternoon. Long before the second free practice was flagged off, the external advisor already left the Red Bull garage. Not even towards the Red Bull Energy Station, but straight to the car that took him to his hotel.

The waiting media - including Red Bull's own station Servus TV - were left hanging. There's a good chance that Marko didn't want to tell the press that a spot in the top ten of the starting grid will be a huge task for Verstappen.

Knowing how good Verstappen is and possibly not coming anywhere near Q3; that would really indicate how difficultly his car handles in Hungary.