Max Verstappen says he feels encouraged by Red Bull’s “very strong” race pace in Friday practice for the Mexican Grand Prix, despite missing half of FP1 due to overheating rear brakes.
The Dutchman was sidelined midway through the morning session when an energy recovery setting “got the rear brakes out of control”, according to team boss Christian Horner.
Verstappen was able to hit the ground running in FP2, clocking 42 laps en route to seventh fastest. Despite trailing Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by over eight tenths on the supersoft tyre, the 19-year-old remains upbeat over Red Bull’s long-run performance.
“Our race pace was very strong, we need to look into the short run anyway,” Verstappen said. “After missing first practice almost entirely I was still working a lot on the car and finally before the long run I made a final set-up change and that seemed to work pretty well.”
Asked whether he was able to complete his FP2 programme after sitting out half of the morning running, the youngest grand prix winner in F1 history replied: “Yes, we did quite a lot. Of course it is not ideal to miss a lot from the first practice. But after a lot of set-up changes, as you could see, and from there on once we were into the long run we found a good balance.”
FULL REPORT: Vettel edges Hamilton by 0.004s in FP2 in Mexico
Chris Medland's 2016 Mexican Grand Prix preview
Scene at the United States Grand Prix
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
The Formula 1 paddock was rocked early last season when Liam Lawson was unceremoniously demoted…
Two-time F1 world champion Mika Häkkinen has delivered a glowing tribute to Oscar Piastri –…
Isack Hadjar is preparing for his first full season with Red Bull Racing, and that…
François Cevert - seen here trying for size his future Tyrrell 005 at the British…
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton isn’t just revving up for a new Formula 1 season…
Former F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone and Alpine’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore may have mellowed with…