Red Bull struggles in high-speed corners as RB22 weaknesses emerge at Suzuka
Suzuka is widely regarded as one of the most demanding circuits on the Formula 1 calendar, and it is also one of the most revealing when it comes to exposing the weaknesses of each car. In this context, the RB22 was no exception, as both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar endured two particularly difficult practice sessions on the Japanese track.
The main issue reported by the drivers was a strong and persistent understeer, combined with other clear shortcomings that significantly limited their performance. These difficulties affected both the Dutchman and the French driver, preventing them from extracting the full potential of the car throughout Friday’s running.
At the end of the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen assessed the situation after finishing in tenth place, more than 1.3 seconds off the benchmark time set by Oscar Piastri.
While the Red Bull-Ford power unit does not appear to be as competitive as those developed by Mercedes and Ferrari, Suzuka has shown that it is not the primary cause of the RB22’s struggles.
“I don’t think energy management was our biggest problem today,” said the four-time world champion. “We struggled much more with balance and grip. It’s not the same as in China, but we are still far from the ideal window.”
The cars from Milton Keynes have been particularly challenged in the opening sector of the lap. Verstappen lost nearly six tenths to Oscar Piastri in that section alone, with the Australian setting a 32.412 compared to the Dutchman’s 33.053.
The situation does not improve in the second sector either. Verstappen recorded a 40.720, while Oscar Piastri managed a significantly quicker 39.990. Notably, this was not even the fastest benchmark, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli set an even stronger 39.877, outperforming the McLaren driver by more than a tenth.
These comparisons clearly highlight how the RB22 is struggling across multiple areas of the track. However, the most critical weakness appears to be in the high-speed corners, where the car consistently loses time.
“We don’t really understand why we are so far off in the first sector,” Verstappen admitted. “From medium to high-speed corners, we are struggling a lot. It’s something we need to work on, and I don’t think it will be easy to fix everything overnight. There are several things that are not working properly at the moment.”
The Dutch driver also described a car that is difficult to predict and inconsistent in its behavior: “Today I experienced two extremes. We go from one extreme to the other and lose a lot of lap time because of that.”
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s team principal, echoed Max Verstappen’s concerns and provided further insight into the team’s current situation. Known for his transparency, the former Ferrari man did not shy away from acknowledging the scale of the problem.
“We are very far off, we are missing a lot of performance. I think that was clear from our drivers’ comments as well. We were not able to give them a car they could push with. That’s why we have several important areas to focus on. It’s part of the game, and we are only at the beginning of the season.”
Mekies also confirmed that, in some respects, the RB22 remains something of an unknown quantity. The team has not yet fully understood how to unlock certain aspects of its performance, which continues to limit both Verstappen and Hadjar.
“Today has been a frustrating day,” he added. “Our drivers cannot push, and you can see that on track. But we still believe in our potential. It’s not the first time we’ve faced difficulties in understanding our limits. We’ve done it before, and I’m confident we can extract performance again.”
“We are struggling especially in high-speed corners. I don’t think it’s only a balance issue. There are some aspects of the car that we haven’t unlocked properly or that we still don’t fully understand. Tonight we will work to try to improve, and over the coming weeks we will aim to get back to the level we want.”
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