Red Bull surprised by blistering Mercedes pace at Azerbaijan GP: "Did not expect this'
Photo: Race Pictures
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has said that while the Milton Keynes ought to be satisfied with the RB22's performance during Free Practice action at the Azerbaijan GP, Mercedes' impressive pace has left the team surprised and with "work to do."
After the second practice session in Baku, Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli topped the timing charts in dominant fashion, with the former finishing P1 just over eight tenths ahead Red Bull's Max Verstappen in P3.
Despite the lack of pace compared with the Silver Arrows, initial feedback from Verstappen on Red Bull's four performance-related upgrades, as Wache explains, has been positive. The Frenchman said post-FP2: "Yeah, it's quite positive in terms of car balance and in terms of what the upgrades bring. It was quite a good correlation with the simulator on that aspect.
"We still have some issue on the car on the right side that we are trying to fix, but that is the main complaint coming from them, not from the upgrade and balance."
The Red Bull chief was then asked on complaints from Verstappen that he was "constantly counter-steering" during the FP2 session. Wache responded: "The main problem he has is that we have to make sure that we calm down the car in term of ride and especially on the rear, that he can maximise the potential of the car and especially the aero potential."
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Wache: Mercedes are a lot quicker than us
Photo: Race Pictures
Quizzed on whether the large gap to Mercedes could be exaggerated by their extra run towards the end of the session, Wache said he hopes Red Bull can get closer to the Constructors' leaders as the weekend progresses, but if that current gap is truly representative, the Austrian team have "tough" weekend ahead.
"I hope that it's closer, but it looks like they are a lot quicker than us," Wache added. "We will see what we can do to make the car quicker, but, yeah, if it's a real delta, it will be tough for us."
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Wache, however, admits he did not anticipate such a deficit, adding: "I did not expect this this big gap, mainly on the straight and after you have to analyse... but yeah, we have work to do to achieve what they achieved."
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