Following the first day of training in Bahrain, a sense of resignation was evident at Red Bull on Friday evening. In the second free practice for the Bahrain GP, Max Verstappen had to concede over eight-tenths of a second to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, finishing seventh. Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, clocked the second-fastest time and was the only one who came somewhat close to the Australian.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” admitted Red Bull team boss Christian Horner immediately after the second session, which took place in temperatures still above thirty degrees. “Both McLarens are very, very fast compared to the other teams. We have quite a bit of work to do tonight to see if we can improve the car and reduce the gap. But no, it’s impossible to repeat here what Max did last week in Japan.”
Last week, Max Verstappen caused a major surprise by securing pole position on Saturday in Japan and keeping the McLarens behind him from start to finish the following day.
Red Bull’s top executive, Helmut Marko, also harbors few illusions for Bahrain. “Hopefully, we’ll be a bit more competitive in the qualifiers tomorrow. But our biggest problem is managing the tire temperature. This track doesn’t suit us. The warmer it is, the better it is for McLaren. Unfortunately, the gap to the McLarens is significant.”
