In the second practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were separated by only 0.002 seconds, but they both lost more than a tenth to Fernando Alonso. After the session, the reigning world champions summed up the results of the first Friday of the season.
Max Verstappen (2nd): “A difficult start to the day. In the first training session, we might not find the right balance, which is strange, because on the tests there were no such problems.
In the second session on a short series of circles, the car felt more collected, and the pace on a long series was not so bad. In general, the car looks good on a long distance. In the break between workouts, we chose the right direction, and now I need to find the former rhythm.
Aston Martin racers look competitive, but we saw that in the tests. We still have a lot of work to do, but we know we have a competitive car – now all we have to do is put all the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Sergio Perez (3rd): “It was quite difficult because the temperature changed noticeably throughout the day. Evening training was the only representative. We still have to work on speed on a fast lap, which should automatically improve our form in the long distance.
Today we got to know the car better and got a good idea of what needs to be done with the settings on Saturday. I think the fight ahead is tight – Aston Martin and Ferrari look very strong. Whoever has the best lap in qualifying and who has the best race pace on Sunday will win.”
