Red Bull's Formula 1 challenger has proven significantly more complicated to handle than anticipated during the race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The Milton Keynes-based outfit arrived at the venue carrying strong momentum after securing back-to-back victories in the preceding two rounds courtesy of Max Verstappen, who has maintained an unbroken podium streak at this demanding American venue since the 2017 season.
The Dutch driver had already voiced concerns regarding the severe bumpiness of the asphalt surface upon his arrival on Thursday. Nevertheless, his pace remained relatively competitive through Friday's sessions as he carved out a second-place finish in FP1 followed by a solid third position in FP2, trailing closely behind the leading Ferrari cars on both occasions.
Conversely, things unfolded into a much steeper uphill battle for Isack Hadjar, who languished in ninth position and surrendered roughly a full second to the frontrunners during the second practice session. Reflecting on his struggles in an interview with Formula1.com, the rookie admitted that the handling characteristics deteriorated dramatically once the soft compound tyres were bolted on.
We had an okay FP1 and then in FP2 I felt okay as well on the medium compound tyres, even though we changed the car, Isack Hadjar explained to media after wrapping up the afternoon running. But on the soft, the car was completely gone for me. Very difficult to drive, so I need to turn things around tomorrow, sit down and see what we can do because the car made a massive step down.
Technical director Pierre Wache candidly acknowledged that the engineering group was caught off guard by the sheer difficulty of dialing in an optimal balance across the technical layout of the Austin circuit. This track is quite bumpy, and trying to rebalance the car proved much more difficult than we expected, Wache stated when breaking down the engineering dilemma.
He further emphasized that extensive labor lies ahead for the crew on both sides of the garage, specifically tailored toward resolving Isack Hadjar's balance issues between high-speed and low-speed corners. Our main focus is also the race, we have to be careful to not focus too much on the one-lap performance, because here, the tyre degradation in the race is very important, he concluded. Read our in-depth analysis and stay ahead with the latest paddock updates on Sportrik Media.
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