Max Verstappen appeared sceptical of Red Bull’s pace ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will decide the Drivers’ title.
The Dutchman was second in both free practice sessions on Friday at the Yas Marina Circuit, both times behind title-leader Lando Norris’ McLaren.
Norris appears to have the upper hand so far, the MCL39 seemingly to be looking well-suited to the circuit, despite Oscar Piastri clocking only 11th fastest in the second session.
Verstappen appears to be setting the bar low ahead of the race, which will, in turn, lower any expectations of him taking the title, needing to overturn a 12-point deficit to Norris to do so.
Speaking after practice, Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 that the RB21 is responding relatively well to him, but not enough to envisage a likelihood of challenging the McLarens.
“[The car was] Pretty okay, I mean I was fairly happy with the car, we just need to be probably a little bit faster,” he said.
“I think, yeah, still not quick enough, but I think overall we’ve been in a, for us, I think in a decent window around here.”
Verstappen had complained in FP1 of the car feeling as if there were problems with it, and when asked if the ride was OK, he replied: “That’s a constant fight, yeah, that’s nothing new.”
When put to him if his engineers can find something within the RB21 that can enable him to get it in the right window to compete with Norris and Piastri, Verstappen seemed to feel it was unlikely, but he put faith in the team to remedy the issues.
“Seems like it’s a decent gap that we need to close, but from our side we’ll just try to put the best car forward, and yeah, let’s see how much we can find overnight,” he added.
Verstappen concluded that the “single lap and long run needs to be better” if he is to be left feeling happy about his chances.
READ MORE – Lando Norris tops FP2 for season-closing F1 Abu Dhabi GP
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