Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko has insisted Max Verstappen was not complaining when highlighting bouncing issues in first practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. The two-time F1 World Champion completed a clean sweep on Friday by topping both sessions to underline his dominance over the rest of the field. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has reverted to its pre-2007 layout with a high-speed double right-hander replacing the slow, twisting chicane to finish the lap. But through the final corner, a bump in the track caused bouncing issues for the entire field as the cars bottomed out. Verstappen's comments over team radio stood out, however, given Red Bull's ability to tune porpoising and bouncing out of its machinery since the induction of F1's latest technical regulations last season. McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella pointed to this as proof teams would face a challenge in complying with the bump throughout the weekend. Downplaying Verstappen's radio message, however, Marko told Sky Deutschland : "He didn't complain. He just said what the car was doing. There was a slight bouncing in one situation." On the revision to the circuit layout, Marko added: "It's smoother, it's faster and the race will probably be more attractive as a result."
Tyre challenge
The changes to the track layout will have a detrimental effect on tyre wear in the race on Sunday given the increased load exerted on the front-left tyres. "[The driver] has to pay attention to the load, how fast he goes into the corner," said Marko on the challenge presented by the changes. "He has to be careful when accelerating and he has to find a general balance so that both the speed and the overall load on the tyres are right. "I heard Max's analysis. It's not easy, a different tyre is put under strain in every corner. Of course, the load on the front left is the greatest, but the rear tyres are also put under extreme stress."
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