Marko after lost day: 'Max must be Max now'

Perez saving grace

Especially on an unfamiliar circuit, the teams want to gather as much data as possible on the setup of the cars. Red Bull Racing could not do that with Verstappen. As a result, the team already seems to be lagging behind the competition, who were able to do the necessary kilometres.

So with only one hour of free practice left today before qualifying starts, Red Bull has some catching up to do. But there was a bright spot: "Thank God we had Perez," Helmut Marko spoke to Motorsports Magazine. "He drove a lot and his times were promising. We now have to transfer that to Max's car. Max now has to be Max and improve without training."

No structural problem

During the first free practice, Verstappen had problems with the cooling. Marko is not concerned that there is a structural problem in the Florida heat. "Everyone saw that Perez had no problem with the temperature," Marko responded accordingly.