Max Verstappen is feeling positive about Red Bull's performance after the opening day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, despite getting "unlucky" when trying to set fast laps. The Dutchman finished third in both practice sessions, but didn't have a totally smooth Friday, with his rear wing being affected by DRS (Drag Reduction System) issues during Free Practice 1. He spent the opening moments of Free Practice 2 in the garage as the mechanics appeared to be working on the issue, but looked to have solid pace when he eventually headed out on track. "[I was] just a bit unlucky with my soft tyre runs in FP1 and FP2," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 . "[I] caught a yellow flag so I had to back out but, overall, I think we look quite decent."
Verstappen wary of Ferrari's pace
Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez topped the timesheets during FP1, while Charles Leclerc set the pace in FP2. The speed of Ferrari is something that Verstappen remains wary of, but he is still content with where Red Bull stand. "[It] looks like Ferrari's quite quick over one lap again," the 2021 World Champion said. "Long run [pace] looks a little bit more even, so that's positive. "For once, it seems like on a street circuit we can get the tyres to work over one lap, [for] everyone, it seems. Because all the time you try in the second lap, you already lose performance. "But yeah, overall I think not a bad day, [we] just need to fine tune a few things." Verstappen admits that he didn't get much of a long-run stint in during FP2, but feels confident that the team have accumulated enough information to see which "direction" they want to go in with the tyres.
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