New parts at Red Bull: will this help Verstappen?

Red Bull Racing have brought a number of new parts this weekend for Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon. The drivers will compete for pole position in qualifying this afternoon.

During the third free practice this morning Verstappen finished fourth and Albon ninth. The young Dutchman was hindered several times during his fast lap. Pierre Gasly blocked him halfway through the session. Towards the end, when Verstappen was doing a very good lap, he had to get off the gas because Nicholas Latifi was spun in the last corner. So he hasn't been able to drive a really representative lap yet.

The new parts the team has brought along for this weekend are new brake ducts. This should ensure that the cars can brake later and thus stay on their throttle longer. Due to this morning's messy session, it remains to be seen what effect this will have.

In addition, Red Bull had also prepared a special test chassis for Albon. The intention was that it would be used mainly on Fridays, but the weather conditions threw a spanner in the works for the team. Because they were not able to test it, they now went back to the old chassis for the Thai.