Verstappen says ‘real gap’ to Mercedes exposed in FP2

Max Verstappen opened the Belgian Grand Prix weekend by topping the first practice session, but at the end of the day the reigning World Champion was under no illusions about where Red Bull truly stands.

After an encouraging start at Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen believes FP2 painted a far more accurate picture of the competitive order, with Red Bull falling behind a resurgent Mercedes led by Kimi Antonelli.

The Dutchman ended second practice nearly half a second adrift of the Italian, whose benchmark lap put Mercedes at the top of the timesheets. Rather than seeing that as a surprise, Verstappen viewed it as confirmation of the gap Red Bull had expected heading into one of the season's most demanding circuits.

FP2 exposes the ‘real gap’

Despite finishing fastest in FP1, Verstappen insisted the headline result masked the bigger story. The positive takeaway, he suggested, was that Red Bull finally arrived at a race weekend with its car already operating in a competitive window instead of spending valuable track time chasing the right setup.

"It's been alright for me, I didn't really have big problems,” he said.

“The car has been quite in a good window. Probably in FP2 you have seen the real gap a little bit more, but that's nothing shocking or unexpected."

Even with a car that felt well balanced through Spa’s flowing corners, Verstappen acknowledged Red Bull is still paying the price in one crucial area.

"It's just a bit of a tough track with the energy management. It seems like we're a bit slower on the straights compared to some of our competitors, but balance-wise it's been quite OK,” he explained.”

That limitation had been anticipated before the weekend, with Spa’s long full-throttle sections placing a premium on electrical energy deployment. Friday’s running appeared to reinforce those concerns, even if the overall handling of the RB22 was more encouraging than expected.

Max's “unacceptable” problem with RB22

One issue that frustrated Verstappen throughout Friday was the behaviour of the car under downshifts.

His dissatisfaction was evident over team radio, where he labelled the problem "unacceptable," but afterwards he downplayed the concern, describing it as part of the normal process of refining the package.

"I'm always very sensitive to these things because I want to work on that and improve it,” he said.

"I think there was a software update or a downgrade that took a bit of time for the shifts to learn, and then it got a bit better again at the end."

Away from the cockpit, Red Bull also arrived in Belgium with a notable aerodynamic change. The team has temporarily abandoned its rotating rear wing after Verstappen's crashes at Spielberg and Silverstone, reverting to a more conventional specification while revised components are prepared for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Although the alternative rear wing carries a slight drag disadvantage around Spa, Verstappen does not believe it will define Red Bull's weekend.

"It just opens differently. But we just focus on ourselves, and honestly I cannot be disappointed or whatever. It’s been a good day for us,” he elaborated.

"I’m not sure how much more there is in there compared to the others, but feeling-wise it’s been alright."

For Verstappen, Friday delivered cautious encouragement rather than inflated expectations. The car may finally be starting weekends in a healthier operating window, but FP2 served as a timely reminder that Mercedes and its rivals still hold the upper hand when outright pace matters most.

Read also: Verstappen still keeping everyone guessing on Red Bull future

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