Max Verstappen finished Friday's practice sessions for the United States Grand Prix in second and third place, consistently less than two tenths behind Charles Leclerc's benchmark times. The four-time world champion expressed satisfaction with the RB22's early signs at the Circuit of the Americas.
"It's been a positive start to the weekend. This track is never easy when it comes to finding the right compromise between the low and high-speed corners," Verstappen said after FP2. "The bumps make it even more difficult, so you're trying to find a good balance in the car and get into a rhythm. There's still a bit more work to do to fine-tune that balance, but it wasn't a bad day at all."
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache identified low-speed performance as the team's primary focus area. Data shows the slowest corners at COTA are predominantly red, indicating Ferrari's strength. Verstappen loses considerable ground through Turns 12-16, confirming Wache's assessment.
The team's two main priorities ahead of qualifying are improving low-speed performance and the car's behaviour over the track's "unacceptable" and "out of control" bumps, particularly under braking at Turn 1. The current generation of F1 cars sits low under braking due to active aerodynamics and straight-line mode, exacerbating bump issues.
Source: Autosport F1 News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing