Verstappen not happy with gap: 'To be honest, I wasn't really surprised'

Max Verstappen cannot be satisfied with the result of the first two practice sessions at Zandvoort. After having to sit out FP1 due to a gearbox problem, Red Bull Racing failed to get the balance of Verstappen's RB18 right for FP2. Verstappen is disappointed, but not surprised by the gap to the competition.

Verstappen started FP2 lagging behind, having only been in action for around ten minutes during the first free practice session. Instead of Red Bull, it was Ferrari and Mercedes whose names topped the timesheets. At the end of the second free practice session the Dutchman was eighth, with a gap of almost seven tenths to fastest man Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen not surprised by gap to competition

That gap did not come as a shock to the championship leader, who was anything but satisfied with the balance during FP2. "To be honest, while driving it I was not really surprised when I saw the lap time difference. So there's a lot of things we can improve on," Verstappen told various media including GPblog.com.

However, a lot can still change during the weekend, and Verstappen is therefore confident that Red Bull can make the necessary improvements before Saturday. "We have the whole night to look at things and then of course FP3 as well, and we'll try of course to be more competitive," the reigning World Champion concluded.