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Max Verstappen reported feeling his Red Bull was "broken" during the first free practice session, but Laurent Mekies has allayed those fears — and explained why it was a good thing.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed “everything is okay” with Max Verstappen’s RB21, after the Dutchman complained his car was “broken” during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He shared that there were initial concerns at the Milton Keynes-based squad, but those worries have since been alleviated.
During the opening hour of running at the Yas Marina Circuit, the four-time F1 drivers’ champion could not conceal his dissatisfaction with the package beneath him.
He bemoaned his car over team radio, suggesting that something was not working correctly during his longer run, having been second fastest and only eight milliseconds slower than Lando Norris, who topped the session, on outright pace.
Afterwards, his boss told Viaplay that all was well, despite the scare, with the F1 drivers’ championship on the line.
“Everything is okay. We don’t think the car is actually broken, as we feared at some point in the session,” Mekies said before explaining the crux of the issue.
“It’s a very, very tough track to get a good balance, and especially when the tyres are getting used.”
The 70-time grand prix winner ended FP2 second quickest, again behind the championship leader, but this time three-and-a-half tenths of a second slower than the leading MCL39.
Late in the session, he radioed in to Red Bull to say his car was bouncing too much in Turn 3. Prior to that, the pair had a near-miss on track.
Verstappen trails Norris by 12 points in the standings, and whilst the 28-year-old needs results to fall his way, Mekies outlined that the early gremlins are a net positive for his driver.
“And it’s true that in the middle of his long run, Max called because he was very, very unhappy with what the car was doing, but I think it’s good news that it’s pointing us towards some potential improvements, but it’s not about something being broken,” the Frenchman added.
“It’s about still being very suboptimal with the balance, and it’s probably the case for most of our competition.”
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