Max Verstappen concluded his first day at the Yas Marina Circuit with a ‘fairly satisfied’ feeling. However, the Dutchman hopes that Red Bull can extract more speed from the RB21, as Lando Norris managed to pull a gap of three-tenths in the second free practice. That same Norris, however, also sees room for improvement at McLaren: ‘There’s nothing to smile about yet’.
Max Verstappen started the last Grand Prix weekend in Abu Dhabi well, clocking the second fastest time twice on Friday. However, the Dutchman had to watch as title rival Lando Norris was slightly faster both times. Nevertheless, the four-time world champion was satisfied with the RB21.
“The car performed quite well. I was fairly satisfied,” Verstappen reflected positively after the second free practice. “We just need to find some more speed.” Particularly in the second practice hour, Norris was significantly faster than the reigning world champion by a good three-tenths. “There’s still a considerable gap we need to close, but we’ll tune the car as best we can. We need to improve both the pace over a single lap and in the long runs.”
Vigilant Norris
With the fastest time on the boards twice, championship leader Norris seems to hold the best cards for the rest of the weekend. However, the McLaren driver claims ‘there’s nothing to be happy about yet’. “I mean, looking at the times and everything, it looks good at the moment, but I still want to get a bit more out of the car,” Norris explains. “I’m not entirely satisfied; I don’t have full confidence yet.” The Brit also immediately explains why the confidence is still lacking. “We always know that it gets a lot more exciting in the qualifying, so there’s nothing to smile about yet.”
