Verstappen sees positives despite Red Bull’s pace deficit in Baku - Photo: RacePictures.com

Verstappen sees positives with RB21 'feeling good' in Baku

18:16, 19 Sep

Updated: 18:31, 19 Sep

byPietro Vurro

A good start for Max Verstappen and Red Bull in Baku: the Dutchman finished FP1 in seventh and FP2 in sixth. The four-time world champion remains uncertain about what to expect from the upcoming sessions.

Max Verstappen in Baku - Photo: RacePictures.com

It wasn't too bad, to be honest.

- Max Verstappen

According to Verstappen, the RB21 didn’t feel too bad. The gap to Ferrari and McLaren in FP2 doesn’t appear insurmountable, though he acknowledges that on a circuit like Baku, finding the fastest lap often comes down to factors such as slipstreaming or tyre management.

The Dutchman, speaking to F1, began: "It wasn't too bad, to be honest. Building up to it, but I think, again, what was positive for us was that the car felt quite good, so it definitely seems like we found a stable balance, and that is what we need.

"This track is very particular in its layout and everything needs to just come together to try and produce a good lap. Just fine tuning, a few little bits and then hopefully tomorrow that will be better."

The Red Bulls weren’t as quick as Ferrari and McLaren, though the papaya cars are thought not to have shown their full potential.

Verstappen continued: "It seems like Ferrari is really on it, but they're always very fast around here.

"I don't even know how fast of course McLaren is going to be. I do expect a few teams to be quite close and then it all comes down to just driving a perfect lap or just getting your tyres in because that is also very difficult around here."

Finally, Verstappen stressed the importance of slipstreaming in qualifying: "Then honestly also with such a long straight if you get lucky with a little bit of a tow you gain two tenths easily so that can also make quite a big difference."

Marko sees Monza was not just a 'one-off'

Talking in Baku on Friday, the Austrian top advisor saw that the Italian GP was not an outlier for the team.

"We can prove here that it was not a one-off event. I believe we will be in the top three tomorrow in qualifying. That means we can also fight for the win in the race. The momentum is there, the car has a wider window, and it’s easier to set up. So that is definitely a step forward,” he said.