Max Verstappen believes he needs to find his Formula 1 "rhythm" at the Bahrain Grand Prix after an "odd" Friday practice. The World Champion finished third and second respectively in Friday's two sessions, ending only a tenth behind Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin in FP2. In the first session, the Red Bull looked scrappy and not as in control as it did during pre-season testing, with Verstappen admitting that he still needed to bed himself into the car - but that he was happy with his long-run pace.
"It was a difficult start to the day, FP1 was really bad and we couldn't get a balance," Verstappen told media ,including RacingNews365 , in Bahrain. "[It] was a bit odd because in testing whatever we tried [seemed to work], and okay, some things were maybe not amazing but [were] not that far off. "So, a few things to understand, and even the start of FP2 was a bit difficult and then the final run, even not having a good reference and confidence up until then in the car. "And then in the long run, with all the changes made, I was quite surprised about the pace we had overall with the car in the long run. "I just need to find my rhythm again and [adapt] to the way the car is driving. "If I feel happy in the car, I can push like I want to push the car on one lap, then we are very fast, but it's also of course making sure that the car doesn't fall out of the window for too long." As for the threat posed by Aston Martin and Alonso, Verstappen noted that "you could see already in testing that they were competitive" and that "they had a great day" with "work to do" for Red Bull overnight.
Most read
