Strong start for Red Bull despite technical glitches

Friday was a solid start to the Austrian Grand Prix weekend for Red Bull Racing at the team's home circuit.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were in the top five in both morning and afternoon practice. They were within four tenths of a second of Lewis Hamilton's best time of the day in FP2.

But Ricciardo's running was curtailed when his Red Bull suffered a turbo issue in the afternoon session. And Max Verstappen suffered some floor damage in the morning and a brake issue that delayed his involvement in the afternoon.

"It was another good Friday today," insisted Ricciardo. "We seemed to be relatively competitive.

"I didn’t really get to do a proper long run at the end because we had a couple of issues, but otherwise it was a smooth day."

"The top five cars were within four-tenths," he noted. "Hopefully that remains for tomorrow and then it’ll be quite an exciting show for the weekend.

"I’m sure Mercedes will probably turn it up for qualifying but I hope we can stay in that fight.”

• Hamilton stays in charge in second practice

"I think it was a positive day," agreed Verstappen.

"We had a small issue with a brake connection at the start of FP2," he confirmed. "We had to take the floor off the car which lost us some time. But we pretty much completed our programme so we can be happy with that."

Neither Ricciardo nor Verstappen felt that any of the minor issues that had encountered on Friday would adversely impact their weekend.

"We still have some work to do tonight," said Verstappen. "I’m not fully happy with the balance we had today. But we are also not too far off.

"We always know that in qualifying Mercedes will turn up their engines," he remarked. "And of course the weather here can change very quickly. So it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.”

Many drivers had a moment or two during the day's track activity. Verstappen himself had a scare in the last corner when his Red Bull drifted wide and onto the grass and dirt.

"This is not the highest grip track," he explained. "With the higher speeds this year, if you have a moment, it is difficult to correct without hitting a kerb or going through the gravel.

"The yellow kerbs were definitely a challenge," he added. "I think maybe they are not the type of kerbs for Formula 1. The cars just aren’t designed for it."

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