Friday at Suzuka proved extremely challenging for Red Bull, with the team finishing far behind the leaders set by McLaren and Mercedes. In fact, the Milton Keynes squad seemed off the radar of the top teams, a sharp contrast to the dominant performances it has delivered in recent years. The RB22 appeared to have shortcomings in every area, leaving four-time world champion Max Verstappen far from satisfied with the session results. The Dutch driver ended FP2 in 10th place, around 1.5 seconds off the pace set by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, while teammate Isack Hadjar finished 15th, just two-tenths behind Verstappen.
Verstappen: “Fix one thing, another problem arises”
“Today we experienced two opposite situations, swinging from one extreme to another, which ultimately affected our lap time. We made some changes between sessions, trying to solve one problem only for another, rather difficult one, to appear,” Verstappen explained to F1 media. Red Bull has yet to find the solution to a car that remains unpredictable. The RB22 is an enigma on all fronts, and for now, the team can only accumulate laps and data while seeking a clearer understanding of the issues at hand.
“We just need to understand our problems better and where they come from. We lacked some balance and grip, and now there’s a lot of work to figure out why. We also need to understand why we’re so far behind in sector one and at medium-high speeds. We’ll work on this overnight, but I don’t think it’s an easy fix.” Using the simulator, Red Bull aims to at least improve on the first day of running and catch up to Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari. Given the tight midfield battle, this will not be simple, but historically, the Milton Keynes team has shown it can turn things around from Friday to Saturday. Miracles may not happen this weekend, but a step forward is urgently needed.
Hadjar: “We need better balance and grip”
“Today wasn’t our best day. We struggled with setup and grip in both sessions, making it difficult to string together the laps we wanted. In FP2, we improved the car feel a bit, but we’re still behind on lap times. I don’t feel as comfortable in the car as I’d like, but I’m confident we’ll turn things around tomorrow and get into a better position for qualifying,” said Isack Hadjar, echoing the concerns expressed by his teammate.
Monaghan: “Upgrades are working, but balance is key”
Paul Monaghan, Red Bull’s Chief Engineer, offered further insight into the work being done at Milton Keynes. “As you can see from our pace, the car is not performing at the standard we’re used to, and the overall lap times aren’t good. It’s been a challenging session, but we’ve identified some problems and now need to focus on correcting balance and grip. Our goal is to fully understand these issues so we can make effective changes before tomorrow.”
At Suzuka, Red Bull brought several upgrades, which Monaghan confirmed are performing well. “Geometrically, the updates we brought are quite significant, so thanks to everyone at the factory for getting them here—it was a major effort. These upgrades are working, but now we need to address the other areas of the car. As always, we’ll work to understand what went wrong, solve the problems, and get the car ready for tomorrow.”
Monaghan’s comments suggest that the RB22 requires adjustments in multiple areas, not just a single localized fix. This aligns with Verstappen’s observations: as one issue is solved, others emerge. The team’s aim for the weekend remains to score as many points as possible, while using the upcoming break to return to Miami with a stronger car and improved performance.
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