The second Formula One practice session in Abu Dhabi ended in somewhat surprising fashion as Max Verstappen trailed home in P17. Even more of a shock was the fact that Sergio Perez was ahead of his team mate.

Just nine points in the last seven races from the Mexican driver has seen Red Bull Racing fall out of contention for the constructors’ championship which will be contested this weekend between Ferrari and McLaren.

Its not the first time Red Bull have had a poor start to the weekend and turned things around as last time out in Qatar Max was nowhere during the Sprint, yet when the cars came out of parc ferme, Red Bull made the right alterations giving Verstappen the tools to go on and win the Grand Prix.

 

 

 

Marko sarcastic joke

Following the poor start to the weekend, Dr. Helmut Marko joked about where the inspiration would come from to turn things around. “Sarcastically, we took the momentum from Friday in Qatar,” he told ORF. “There we were just as bad. 

“Will we manage to make the turnaround again? It will be difficult. We know roughly where the problem lies, but it’s still there. The car lacks balance and has too small a working window.”

The turnaround in Qatar took place mid way through Saturday but there a differences between last and this weekend. Track temperatures are much warmer which usually help the RB20 but Verstappen spent the day complaining about “a ridiculous amount of understeer.”

“It’s different temperatures again than in Qatar,” added Marko. “Let’s see what we can make of it. But the problems are slightly different now. It would be too easy [if they weren’t].”

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Verstappen complains over car balance

Both drivers were downbeat after the session which was the first time Max had driven his car this weekend as junior driver Isack Hadjar had been behind the wheel earlier in the day. 

“Just not a very good balance to be honest,” was the verdict of Verstappen, who announced on Friday morning that he’s set become a father with partner Kelly Piquet in 2025.

“Just no connected balance from entry to mid-corner, and that makes it then of course difficult to basically push. And that’s something that we’ve got to work on overnight.”

“I‘m sure that we can do better,” Verstappen added referencing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s one-two performance in FP2. “I’m not saying that we’ll be at McLaren level, because they seem very quick so far this weekend, but at least if we can fight in that top six, that will be a good recovery, because so far it’s been quite tricky.”

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Perez bizarre claim about championship

Speaking to the media after FP2, Perez shared Verstappen’s frustrations with the RB20 package – while hinting that the car’s long-run pace might be more promising for Sunday evening’s season finale.

“It was tricky,” he said. “Over one lap it’s quite tricky. I think we’ve got some work to do. I think the long run is a lot more promising, but over one lap, we need to try and connect the car. We’ve been trying a lot of stuff out there, but it’s just not coming together at the moment,” said Checo.

Meanwhile Ferrari and McLaren will fight it out for the constructors’ title this weekend and Sergio Perez has made a dramatic claim about Red Bull’s lost chances. Speaking to the written media in Abu Dhabi, Checo appeared to be incredulous that Red bull didn’t do more to win their seventh championship.

“I’m obviously part of a big organisation, a big team and it’s very unfortunate that we did not fight any harder for the constructors,” he said. Yet the numbers don’t lie and Max is this year’s world champion, winning nine Grand Prix his team mate is the only driver without a win amongst the top eight in the standings. Perez meanwhile has fewer points in the most recent four races than his team mate has wins and Checo has failed to finish higher than sixth since the Miami Grand Prix in may.

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Lawson lets slip imminent news

Yet Perez remains insistent his contract to drive for Red Bull next year is watertight, meanwhile a number of the Red Bull academy drivers are vying to step up to F1. Yuki Tsunoda with four years experience in Formula One should be favourite to replace the Mexican driver, although the team have considered Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto too.

Lawson let it slip today there will be news from him next week, which would suggests the team have confirmed their intentions to him. Of course if Red Bull have designed car which is difficult to drive and have been repeatedly accused of targeting its characteristics to favour Max’s driving style.

Yet the team have repeatedly denied this with Adrian Newey explaining last year the team design the car to be as fast as possible and not with any driving characteristics as the focus.  

When asked by ESPN about his future, Perez said: “Nothing has changed since before in terms of what I’ve said for the entire year. I’ve got a contract for next year and I will be driving for Red Bull next year,” he said.

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Perez adamant he will drive

Then he was pressed if he could say 100% he would be behind the wheel. “I already said, mate. Nothing further to add. I have a contract for next year.”

Yet sources within the team have been briefing on the situation with a consensus emerging that Sergio does not have a contract which guarantees him a drive next year. However, the contract does mean the team will pay the Mexican who may be offered an ambassadorial role in return for his remuneration.

Christian Horner hinted in Qatar, the decision is in Checo’s hands which clearly means he has been offered the opportunity to step down and save face.

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Zak Brown questions F1 stewards decision

Formula One is heading into the final weekend of the 2024 season which for the first time in history has seen seven drivers win multiple races. Sergio Perez is the only driver amongst the top four teams without a win an his future with Red Bull Racing is hanging by a thread.

Christian Horner said last time out in Qatar that Checo “would have to make his now mind up” when asked about the Mexican’s future, which appeared to suggests the team were hoping for him to announce his retirement from the sport.

Perez and his father are adamant he has a contract to drive next season and appear to have taken the position that if the team do not honour it, there will be legal consequences… READ MORE