Max Verstappen believes Red Bull's latest round of F1 upgrades are "working well" at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a "strong" practice.
Verstappen placed third in FP2 for Red Bull as it deployed a raft of upgrades to the RB22 machine in Baku, including a new floor, diffuser, and sidepod layout.
He was the only driver within one second of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in FP2, and ahead of both Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen is seeking a third straight podium finish for the first time this season after third and second in Italy and Spain, respectively, and felt that the Red Bull was in a good place with which to attack the remainder of the weekend.
"Today was quite decent, and I was pretty happy with the car," Verstappen said.
"We were working on fine-tuning a few bits and trying to find some more performance, so it was a good start for the team.
"It looks like we are up there at the moment and could be fighting for a podium place, so we just need to find a bit more pace.
"The upgrades are working well, which is positive, so we will see how it plays out tomorrow."
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Red Bull upgrade feedback
Red Bull's technical director, Pierre Wache also delivered his verdict on the upgrades after hearing the feedback of Verstappen and the returning Isack Hadjar.
"Overall, it was quite a positive day from the start of FP1 onwards, apart from the gearbox problem we had on Isack's car, which we managed to fix in time for FP2," he said.
"We received good feedback from both drivers about the balance of the car and the upgrades we brought. There are some things we need to fix, and we are looking to find some more speed.
"Mercedes looks like the fastest car, especially on the short runs, McLaren and Ferrari are hard to assess due to a lot happening on track, but we should be up there with them.
"It was good to see Isack back in the car and being competitive and up to speed straight away, with no issues concerning his wrist."
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