Max Verstappen looks back positively on his first day at the Spanish Grand Prix. After two free practice sessions in Barcelona, the Dutchman believes his Red Bull is in good shape, even though he didn’t clock the fastest time.
“It was very hot today, especially for the tires,” said Verstappen, who had a difficult weekend in Monaco last week, after the practice sessions. “I think we had a reasonable Friday. I am a bit happier with the car.”
Verstappen opened the day with the second-fastest time in the first free practice session. He finished behind Lando Norris, who drove in his McLaren for the first time without the so-called ‘flexi-wings’. The difference was just over three tenths of a second.
In the second practice session, that was also the margin, but then Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri was the fastest. George Russell was also faster than Verstappen. “We are not where we want to be yet, but we are going to work on that,” said Verstappen. “There are always improvements possible. But I’ve also had Fridays where it didn’t all click, so this is a bit more positive.”
Verstappen has good memories of the Spanish Grand Prix. The 27-year-old Dutchman won his first Formula 1 race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2016 and has been the best there for the past three years.
The Spanish Grand Prix continues on Saturday with the third free practice (12:30 PM) and the qualification (4:00 PM). The race starts on Sunday at 3:00 PM. In the World Championship standings, Verstappen is 25 points behind World Championship leader Piastri. There are fifteen races left after this weekend.