Verstappen and Red Bull under pressure as data paints ugly picture

Friday at the Australian Grand Prix marked the first day of the new F1 season.

The opening two practice sessions saw Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc top the time sheets respectively. However, it was a more difficult day for Max Verstappen as the Dutchman failed to register higher than fifth in both sessions.

Verstappen had visible issues behind the wheel of the RB21, as did new team-mate Liam Lawson. The car appeared to be very unstable, despite the mass of upgrades fitted to the Red Bull in Melbourne.

The fastest lap of the day was set by Leclerc, who was a whopping six-tenths of a second faster than reigning champion Verstappen.

The Dutchman needed three attempts to set his best effort and the data shows that it was a struggle for him. While he set the fastest middle sector of any driver, he lost a huge amount of time in the first and third sectors.

This is particularly evident in Turns 1, 11 and 13, where Verstappen navigates the corners with considerably less speed than Leclerc. Ferrari simply has much more grip and, relative to Red Bull, really only lags when the top speed is high. 

Verstappen seemed to drive with less wing as he picked up time on the straights. Still, the overall conclusion is that Red Bull falls incredibly short over one lap. 

View the data and comparisons of Leclerc's and Verstappen's qualifying runs in the images below.

Long runs

When it comes to the long runs, the picture looks a little different for Red Bull. Verstappen started his race simulation relatively late in the second practice session, but did produce a strong stint.

While his times on the medium compound remained steady and even decreased toward the end of the day, he still remained competitive.

However, as has been predicted since pre-season testing, McLaren seem to have quite an edge. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could not beat Leclerc in the short run, but hold a significant advantage with heavier fuel loads onboard.

Norris still hovers around Verstappen's fastest times with more laps, while Ferrari alternates fast lap times with very slow laps. 

McLaren was already known as a tyre whisperer last season and seems to continue that line effortlessly as its strong lap times continued despite the wearing tyres.

One team that is a major question mark is Mercedes For that matter, Mercedes is the big question mark after Friday. George Russell drove well on the mediums and hard tyre, but failed to improve his times significantly on the soft rubber.

Should they find the so-called sweet spot, Russell could spring a surprise. The W16, even in hot weather, shows fewer strange abnormalities compared to last year.

View the data from the long runs below. The text continues after that.

Throttle usage

All in all, it seems Red Bull's struggles primarily stem from the slow corners - the team tops a notable list as over a full lap, Verstappen and Lawson spend the most time on the accelerator.

This suggests that they are braking later than the competition, so the main problem looks to be a balance issue in the middle of the corner, while pure speed is always lacking.

Conclusions from Friday appear to suggest that it's McLaren leading the way across the long run, but Ferrari may be a threat in qualifying.

Red Bull does not appear to be in the mix, at least not in the same ballpark as the two aforementioned teams. 

While the qualifying form is no doubt important, it could be less of a factor this weekend with heavy rain forecast for Sunday's race.

Most teams and drivers seem convinced that the grand prix will be a wet affair, which could create a free-for-all battle for the victory.

View the data on throttle usage below.