Verstappen ‘a lot happier’ with Red Bull car but wary of tyre woes

Max Verstappen was feeling “a lot happier” with the behaviour of his Red Bull after a solid qualifying performance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

However, the reigning World Champion remains concerned that tyre overheating could pose a major challenge during Sunday’s race, particularly in a battle against McLaren.

The Dutchman will start from second on the grid after narrowly missing out on pole to Oscar Piastri by less than a tenth of a second. It marks a crucial front-row start for Verstappen as he looks to claw back a 32-point deficit to his McLaren rival in the championship.

A Good Step Forward

Verstappen, who struggled throughout Friday’s practice sessions at Imola, praised the Red Bull team for overnight changes that significantly improved the RB21’s performance ahead of Saturday’s all-important qualifying run.

“I mean it was definitely a good step forward,” Verstappen said. “Yesterday was very tough but today everything felt a bit more normal.

“I was a lot happier. Unfortunately, just on that C6 we couldn’t extract the same as what maybe on the C5 was possible. That was a bit unfortunate but overall quite happy with the car.

“I think what we did overnight was very good and it’s very promising.”

Verstappen's admission that Red Bull struggled to maximise the grip potential of Pirelli’s C6 tyre compound could be key in understanding the team's one-lap deficit to McLaren following Piastri seizing pole in Saturday’s shootout.

Tyre Overheating a Key Concern for Race Day

While the four-time world champion’s confidence in the setup has improved, his attention quickly turned to a more pressing issue – Red Bull’s persistent tyre overheating problems.

It’s a challenge the team has faced multiple times this season and could compromise their long-run pace at a track like Imola, where tyre degradation is crucial.

“The race, of course, is a completely different story because if we’re overheating over one lap then the race isn’t going to be easy,” Verstappen warned.

“I think the most important thing is that we do our own races. If they pass or not that’s what it is. We just try to maximise everything in our car.”

McLaren’s strength this season has been its ability to maintain tyre performance over longer stints – an area Verstappen acknowledged could give Piastri a strategic edge on Sunday.

Red Bull, meanwhile, are hoping their recent upgrades and an upcoming FIA clampdown on flexi-wings at the Spanish Grand Prix will help rebalance the title fight in the coming weeks.

But for now, Verstappen knows his Sunday chances hinge not just on strategy or race starts, but on managing a tyre that, so far, refuses to behave over a full stint.

Read also: Verstappen committed to Red Bull – unless ‘strange things happen'

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