Verstappen: We have a better pace than normal

Red Bull were expected to struggle at the high speed Baku City Circuit, but Max Verstappen dominated the first day of free practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, topping the timing screens in both FP1 and FP2.

Verstappen got his weekend off to a sizzling start as he claimed top spot on the timing sheets in the morning session by nearly half a second over his teammate Daniel Ricciardo and a second quicker than the best Mercedes driver.

Some hours later, in the afternoon session, he again topped the timing screens at the end of the 90 minutes session, but it was a closer at the top with the five fastest drivers within a quarter of a second.

The Dutch teenager reflected on his day at the office, “I felt very good in the car even though, I think, in my short runs in the second practice I couldn’t really take the maximum out of it because of traffic and yellow flags. So we can be quite happy.”

“First of all I went out of the garage and yellow flags then it was a Virtual Safety Car, so you can’t warm up your tyres like you want to. So to be up there without an ideal lap is very positive,” added Verstappen who has only once finished on the podium this season.

It was not all smooth going for the Red Bull driver as a last minute slap of the notorious barriers in Turn 1, during the day’s the final afternoon session, was a blemish he regretted.

He explained, “It was very weird to be honest. I locked up and I was still trying to make the corner but then I thought I would just try to play it safe and just take the exit road. Then suddenly I lost the rear and I had like a four-wheel power slide into the barrier.

“I’ve had that before you know so your heart rate doesn’t go up. But the whole day has been really positive, except that last lap. Straight away I felt really good in the car, the car was handling really well. This has definitely been the most Friday of the year so far.”

Some would venture that once Mercedes and Ferrari come to grips with the slippery track, Red Bull will drop down the order in qualifying. A possibility that he does not discount.

“You always have to be careful. We know that in qualifying Mercedes will turn up their power. To be ahead on a Friday is always positive, we’ll see, to stay there will be difficult but at least we have a better pace than normal,” cautioned Verstappen.

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