Friday ahead of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix was far from trouble-free for Red Bull. There had been hope beforehand that Monza’s layout would suit the team better than Zandvoort, but after Friday practice both Red Bulls were behind a Racing Bulls (Arvid Lindblad) and a Haas (Oliver Bearman).
Max Verstappen gave up his seat to Ayumu Iwasa during first practice, but once he got behind the wheel of the RB22 in the second session, the list of complaints was long. The four-time world champion struggled, among other things, with the brakes, a lack of rear downforce and a car that was bouncing heavily after set-up changes.
Technical director Pierre Wache admits Red Bull has plenty of work to do if it is to turn the race weekend at the Temple of Speed around.
"I think that clearly we have a balance issue on the car, that is the main thing," Wache said when asked by Motorsport.com about Verstappen’s radio complaints. "It’s a little bit like Zandvoort, to be honest, and we try to understand what the issue is. We try to fix it in a different way by set-up and car components."
The latter could suggest that the balance issues in Monza are at least partly related to the upgrades listed in the FIA document – however small the changes to the bib and front wing may be – but according to Wache, the issue is more fundamental than that. "No, I mean that we will evaluate some components and afterwards we have some choices to make between different components [that we have] since a few races. I think we have to make some choices on that."
According to Wache, it has not helped in that respect that Verstappen missed this weekend’s first practice session, meaning Red Bull has slightly less data and feedback from him than usual. "The balance issue is the main thing we’re working on," he said. "It doesn't help when Max is not driving during FP1 and jumps in the car for FP2. We have less time to react, but now we have to react for FP3."
Another Issue Emerged for Red Bull in Monza Practice
That applies above all to the car balance, although there is also room for improvement in terms of energy management. Verstappen already said during media day that Red Bull is certainly not the benchmark in that area – managing the limited amount of energy available at energy-starved circuits.
Iwasa says Red Bull also encountered some teething problems in that area on Friday: "Actually we found something that we should not find with our preparation in the lap before the push lap. But that is good, it is a good learning for the rest of the weekend as a team. It was more related to the energy stuff. I think everyone is trying to find a better direction."
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