Red Bull still struggling at Suzuka: "We try to fix one problem and it creates another."

Already lagging behind in the first two rounds of the season, Red Bull hoped to use the Suzuka circuit to revive its momentum. But from the very first laps, the problems seen in Australia and China were confirmed, with a car unstable and difficult to exploit.

7th in Free Practice 1 then 10th in Free Practice 2 this Friday, Max Verstappen does not seek to alleviate his difficulties at the end of the day: “It wasn’t a great day, to be honest. We’re lacking balance and grip; we experienced two completely opposite situations between FP1 and FP2, and frankly, neither of them was very good for me. So there’s a lot of work to do to understand why we’re encountering these kinds of big problems right now. But anyway, it wasn’t a good day. We try to fix one problem and it creates another, without ever really finding the right balance.”

This observation is all the more worrying as the adjustments made between the two sessions don't seem to have improved the situation. The car appears to be reacting unpredictably, preventing any clear understanding of its behavior and complicating the development process. In this context, the Dutchman remains cautious about the rest of the weekend, aware that solutions won't come immediately. "It's very difficult to solve at the moment, so I'm not really expecting miracles overnight; we simply need to better understand our problems and where they come from."

"The car is not achieving the performance levels we set for ourselves."

Internally, the message is just as clear-sighted. Red Bull's chief engineer, Paul Monaghan, acknowledges that current performance is far from the team's expectations, while insisting that certain problems have been identified: “Our pace clearly shows that the car isn’t reaching the performance levels we’ve set for ourselves, nor those that Max is demanding of himself and us. We’ve identified some problems, which is positive because it gives us a chance to correct them. The question now is how to fix them, and so we’re very busy looking into all of that.”

Despite the improvements made this weekend, particularly to the aerodynamics, the team is still struggling to fully exploit its package. The adjustments expected for the rest of the weekend should remain subtle, focusing more on setup than visible changes. “We’re hoping for good balance and good grip. It’ll be hard to see, I think. There are subtleties that aren’t working properly. Can we fix them? I don’t know. But if you can see the difference, then you have a very sharp eye. Essentially, the car is what it is right now, so it’s up to us to understand what’s wrong, figure it out, fix it, hide it from the others, and then get out of the garage and be fast tomorrow. It’s a bit of a challenge for us.”

"We will then have a better car for [Saturday]."

Beyond the immediate difficulties, the British engineer emphasizes the fundamental work undertaken on the single-seater, the result of significant development but whose effects remain limited on the track: “A lot of work has been done, so there are a few changes. For now, I think this part is working well. We now need to sort out other aspects, and then we’ll have a better car for tomorrow [Saturday].”

Red Bull therefore approaches this weekend with the same uncertainties as previous ones. Their pace remains limited, the car is proving unpredictable, and the upgrades only address a small fraction of the problems the Austrian team is facing. No doubt they will try to bounce back this weekend, at least to get both cars across the finish line, something they haven't managed since the start of the season.

ALSO READ > Japanese GP – FP2: Oscar Piastri fastest, Max Verstappen frustrated