Can rain 'save' Verstappen at Zandvoort? 'This is no surprise'
Exclusive
Red Bull Racing has not worked miracles in the summer break, that much is clear after the first free practice session at Zandvoort. After wind, rain and sunshine, McLaren, and perhaps Mercedes too, still seem to be a size too big for Max Verstappen. A report from Friday at Zandvoort.
The expected strong wind is indeed felt on Friday morning. Where the shuttle bus parks, the bus that shuttles between the media car park and the main entrance, the wind comes right from the side. Consequently, anyone getting off the bus is almost blown over.
Some drivers were already concerned about the wind on Thursday. Lando Norris, for instance, already warned that it could cause dangerous situations. Enquiries with the promoter and the FIA in the morning already showed that they are not very worried. All facilities on and around the track have been tested for these kinds of conditions, and wind is measured continuously.
So there is certainly no question of an evacuation or cancelled session at that point. According to the FIA, the drivers have indicated that the wind is fine to drive in, as long as it is constant. In the second free practice session, it will eventually turn out that driving with that wind is quite difficult after all. Nico Hulkenberg is the biggest victim with a crash, especially with the newly brought updates from Haas on his car.
The effect of the wind at Zandvoort
After the first free practice session, which yielded few insights due to rain, things cleared up after that session. The rain and strong wind gave way to blue skies. On and around the track, the ponchos were traded in for sunglasses again. Prior to FP2, the grandstands also filled up again, with the usual party music playing in the background.
In FP2, the picture before the summer break has not changed. Not surprisingly so, as during the summer break hardly any tinkering with the car is allowed. Max Verstappen got the fifth fastest time and the longruns also don't seem impressive at first glance.
Verstappen and Norris's stints are particularly good to compare. Both do a stint on the medium tyre and then on the soft tyre. On the medium tyre, Norris is very consistent, a few tenths faster per lap than Verstappen, and also does a longer stint than Max. On the soft tyre, the same pattern is noticeable. Verstappen himself is not surprised after the session.
Verstappen not surprised by lack of pace
"It's where we've been the last few races, so it's not really a surprise. We will try to perform a bit better on Sunday.'' For Verstappen, then, the weather forecast is positive. A lot of rain is expected on Saturday, and he and his team can make the difference against McLaren.
Speaking to GPblog, however, Marko reveals that he is not only worried about McLaren. Besides McLaren, Mercedes also left a good impression. ''Yes, very good. They look good over one lap as well as the long runs. And with the different tyres, the different modifications, I think it's going to be an interesting event. Especially considering it will be wet during qualifying tomorrow.''
So for Red Bull there is hope in the form of rain, the new updates do not provide it. Marko already described the updates from earlier this year as 'downdates', the updates at Zandvoort were also not updates but 'modifications', according to Marko. The golden egg has still not been found and so the balance of the car is still not optimal.
In the battle for the world championship, Verstappen also needs help from Sergio Perez. The latter has been under a lot of fire in recent months, kept his seat and seems impressed himself that he gets to keep it. Perez's performance will then have to improve. On Friday, the Mexican was six tenths slower than his teammate. With the pace of the RB20, that guarantees an early elimination in qualifying.
This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!