Verstappen in Quest for Pace at Zandvoort as Red Bull Falls Short in Practice Sessions

Max Verstappen is on the hunt for solutions after Red Bull showed a lack of speed in Friday's practice session

Max Verstappen conceded that Red Bull was "somewhat sluggish" in the Friday practice rounds at Zandvoort.

Max Verstappen is on the hunt for explanations following his admission that Red Bull lacked pace during Friday's practice sessions at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix.

In the initial practice session at Zandvoort, under varying weather conditions, the leader of the world championship, Verstappen, came in behind McLaren's Lando Norris, securing the second position. However, in the second practice session, which was dry, he only managed to achieve the fifth-fastest time, trailing by 0.284 seconds behind the pace leader, Mercedes' George Russell.

Following the second practice, Verstappen acknowledged, "Certainly, FP1 didn't offer much track time, but I suppose in FP2, it became somewhat clearer where we stand."

"We're slightly behind pace in both the short and long term. Clearly, we have some work to do."

"Currently, there's no definitive solution on how to enhance that particular aspect, but we're investigating the matter. It's essentially a matter of being somewhat sluggish."

Since Zandvoort was reintroduced to the F1 schedule in 2021, Verstappen has maintained a perfect record and is aiming for his fourth straight win on his home turf.

Entering the race, the tripe-time world champion has not secured a victory in the last four races, with his most recent triumph being at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

"He mentioned that this has been their situation for the past several races, so it didn't come as a shock."

"We're aiming to enhance our performance slightly for Sunday."

During the second practice session, Sergio Perez, who is Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull, finished with a time that was six-tenths of a second behind, placing him 12th overall.

"He elaborated that they have been experimenting with various things extensively."

"I believe our performance today is somewhat more promising than it appears on paper. I made an error at Turn 12, going off track, which cost me a few tenths."

"In my view, there's definitely room for improvement, particularly when it comes to maintaining speed over longer periods if we want to keep up with those leading the race. It seems we've operated both vehicles in distinct manners, which means we're likely facing a hectic day ahead."

Perez is adapting to collaborating with a different race engineer due to his regular engineer, Hugh Bird, taking paternity leave for the upcoming four races.

"He mentioned that having Richard Wood, known as Woody, as the Race Engineer is quite a novel experience for the team."

"It's a notable aspect for me, but I believe with each session, we'll improve and become more accustomed to it."

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