Max Verstappen has explained the frustration behind his blunt radio messages during Friday practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix, revealing that inconsistent gear changes and an unusual steering problem were among the issues affecting his Red Bull. Despite finishing third in both opening sessions at Interlagos, the four-time world champion believes there is considerably more performance available from the car.
Verstappen’s frustration was audible throughout the opening day of running at Interlagos, where the Red Bull driver repeatedly highlighted problems with his machinery.
Although the results suggested a reasonably competitive start to the weekend, the Dutchman was clearly not satisfied with how the car was behaving.
His radio exchanges provided an insight into the difficulties facing Red Bull as the team attempts to find the right balance and extract additional performance ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session.
Verstappen delivers blunt assessment over gear changes
During the opening practice session, Verstappen was heard expressing his dissatisfaction with the behaviour of the gearbox.
“Unacceptable, these gear changes, simply unacceptable,” he told his race engineer over the radio.
The complaint was particularly notable because Verstappen had been running competitively, eventually finishing third behind Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli.
However, the underlying performance of the car was clearly not matching his expectations.
The Dutchman also highlighted a separate issue involving the steering, describing an imbalance that made driving the RB22 particularly demanding.
“The steering is much heavier to the left than to the right, it’s totally crooked. This is a real fitness workout,” Verstappen explained over the radio.
Such feedback suggested that his difficulties extended beyond simply finding the ideal setup, with the physical behaviour of the car also creating complications.
Red Bull still searching for power unit consistency
Despite the complaints, Verstappen offered a relatively measured assessment when discussing the overall performance of the car after Friday’s running.
“All in all, it wasn’t too bad,” the 74-time Grand Prix winner said.
“But we still need to get more out of the car. The main difficulties revolve around achieving consistent performance from the power unit.”
The comments suggest that Red Bull has not yet found the consistency Verstappen wants from its machinery, particularly when it comes to the interaction between the power unit and the gearbox.
He subsequently made clear that there was still work to complete before the competitive sessions began.
“We still have some work to do before Saturday. There’s nothing shocking to report, but we want to do better in the third free practice session and then in qualifying.”
For a driver competing towards the front of the field, even relatively small inconsistencies can become significant when the margins between the leading teams are so tight.
Verstappen questions Red Bull’s response to technical problems
There was also an entertaining exchange during second practice when race engineer Tom Hart informed Verstappen that the power unit was adapting.
The Dutchman responded with characteristic sarcasm.
“What does that mean? Do I have to talk to the power unit myself?”
It was another indication that Verstappen was not entirely convinced by the explanations being provided from the pit wall.
However, after the session, he was keen to explain that his radio messages should not necessarily be interpreted as signs of serious discontent.
“With gear changes, or whatever you hear me complaining about, it’s just that I’m basically never satisfied; because I think certain things can always be better.”
He continued:
“I always try to refine things or find improvements. So, if you classify that as a complaint or whatever you want to call it, for me it’s primarily an opportunity to make sure my people are constantly paying attention to every detail to find more lap time – because I know there’s more lap time in the car.”
That explanation provides important context to the messages heard during practice.
Verstappen’s willingness to challenge his engineers is part of his approach to extracting maximum performance, rather than necessarily an indication of a breakdown in confidence.
Saturday presents Red Bull with an important opportunity
With Verstappen finishing third in both Friday practice sessions, Red Bull has reason to believe it can remain competitive at Interlagos.
However, the Dutchman has made it clear that simply being near the front is not enough.
The priority will be improving the consistency of the power unit, resolving the gear-change concerns and finding a more comfortable steering balance.
With Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris also showing impressive speed, the competitive picture is far from straightforward.
Verstappen knows that Red Bull cannot afford to leave performance on the table if he is to challenge for pole position and another strong result in Brazil.
The encouraging aspect for the team is that the problems have been identified. Whether Red Bull can address them quickly enough to give Verstappen the car he wants is the question heading into qualifying.
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