Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies is pessimistic about the qualifying session after a disappointing third free practice at the Hungaroring. The Frenchman observes how drivers Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda have been struggling with the RB21 since Friday, but even after testing two different setups during FP3, Red Bull has not yet resolved the issues.
A twelfth place for Max Verstappen and a nineteenth place for Yuki Tsunoda. This is how Red Bull concluded the final free practice session ahead of the qualifying in Hungary. The team has been grappling with balance issues with the RB21 all weekend. New team boss Laurent Mekies fears that there is no improvement on Saturday compared to Friday at the Hungaroring.
“We’ve been struggling since yesterday,” the Red Bull team boss explained to Sky Sports F1 after the final free practice. “It’s been very difficult to get the car in the right setup window and give Max and Yuki the right feel in the car. We’ve tried everything to improve the car, but honestly, it feels about the same today, and we’re just not finding enough grip.”
Tests
In an attempt to understand where the problem lies, Red Bull tried two different setups for Verstappen and Tsunoda. This resulted in two different analyses from the drivers. While Verstappen indicated that the front of his car was the limiting factor, Tsunoda pointed to problems with the rear. “We went in two different directions both yesterday and this morning to better understand the problems. From the first run yesterday, it felt like something was not quite right. We conducted some tests, but I must also honestly say that we have not yet solved it.”
