Strong start
Max Verstappen kicked off the Austrian Grand Prix weekend with solid results, finishing second in FP1 behind George Russell’s Mercedes and third in FP2 behind the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who appeared to be the cars to beat at the Red Bull Ring. Unlike other recent Fridays, the reigning champion’s Red Bull looked well-balanced from the start. Notably, the second Red Bull car—driven by Yuki Tsunoda—secured an encouraging seventh place in the afternoon session.
A new voice on the radio
“This was quite a straightforward day overall, and we didn’t have any major issues,” Verstappen said. “In terms of pace, we had a bit too much understeer in both short and long runs, so that’s something we’ll try to fix for tomorrow.”
For the first time since joining Red Bull, Max Verstappen had to manage a race weekend without his long-time race engineer Giampiero Lambiase, who is absent for personal reasons. In his place is Simon Rennie, and Max Verstappen seemed pleased with their collaboration: “Today went really well with Simon. I’ve known him for a long time from the other side of the garage and have worked with him on the simulator. He’s very experienced and everything went smoothly. He’s very direct, which is great.”
Yuki Tsunoda shows progress
Yuki Tsunoda also expressed optimism after a promising Friday: “Everything moved in the right direction from FP1 to FP2. We’re still missing a few pieces, but I can take some positives from today. We’ll work more overnight to keep this momentum going. I’m feeling confident in the car,” said the Japanese driver. “I like this type of track, and you need confidence to push at high speed. The car felt much better in FP2, and that’s what I need—nothing else. I’m still getting to know this car, and I need a good prep for the sessions that matter this weekend. So far, the approach has been solid, and tomorrow I just need to bring it all together.”
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