'GP' Lambiase reveals Red Bull setup struggles after Verstappen's encouraging start

“Overall, it was a positive Friday, particularly in P1,” GP said in a video released by Red Bull Racing. “Max was feeling pretty comfortable with the car. Yuki also relatively comfortable, a few little tweaks that they had to make through the session.”

However, as the track evolved into the second session, things became more complicated. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is known for its low-grip surface, and that characteristic came into play as the team began to struggle with tyre performance and car balance.

"This track can be a little bit elusive in terms of grip. It's a very smooth tarmac." Lambiase explained, "So there's a few things on the tyres that we need to understand. We're trying to address both the balance and peak grip on both the soft and the medium compound ahead of tomorrow."

Verstappen, who had looked confident earlier in the day, expressed frustration with the car’s handling later in the afternoon. "On the balance, Max was slightly less comfortable in P2 complaining about the mechanical behaviour of the car" GP added. “So there’s a lot of work to be done this evening to try and understand that and make sure that we hit the ground running in the morning in FP3.”

On the other side of the garage, Tsunoda and his team believe they’ve found a setup direction to pursue. “I think they have a direction now which they can follow on the setup,” GP concluded. “Hopefully both cars can be up there tomorrow in FP3 and qualifying.”

Red Bull will also be looking to capitalise this weekend after Norris admitted McLaren had a poor start to the weekend yesterday, giving their rivals an early opportunity to gain the upper hand in Montreal.