Max Verstappen Makes 'Long Runs' Admission as RB21 Struggles Continue

In recent weeks, Red Bull's Max Verstappen has captured the attention of the paddock, especially after the team struggled in Bahrain and engaged in extensive meetings to guide the car's development in the right direction.

Following two challenging sessions in the RB21, Verstappen emphasized the difficulty in handling the car and noted the overall issues with its racing pace.

"Well, we tried some different things with the car, you know, trying to find maybe a different direction with it and I think we learned a lot from it," Verstappen told the media.

"It's still not where I want it to be, personally I don't really look at the gaps, I think in the end of the day you have to just go from your own feeling, right, and what you feel in the car."

"Over one lap it's a bit better, but in the long runs they were very tough still for us."

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At the end of Free Practice 2, Verstappen managed to score the third fastest lap during the session, showcasing the one-lap pace.

However, the RB21 has been plagued by issues with tire wear, which can lead to drops in pace as the tires age.

Difficult weekend 😮‍💨 Struggled with the balance and overall pace. We move forward and keep pushing @redbullracing 💪 pic.twitter.com/SRlKflYfnj
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 13, 2025

The car performed well in Japan; however, in Bahrain, it appeared to be quite challenging for Verstappen, who only managed to secure a P6 and dropped to third in the Drivers' Championship.

In two sessions, Verstappen could not determine whether the car felt more like it did in Japan or Bahrain.

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"Well, it's different actually because it's a different track and grip levels are different, but also the setup is completely different,"

"It's very hard to compare, but it's still clear of course that we want to be faster."

Free Practice 1 did not have representative conditions, though FP2 did feature conditions that should be quite similar to the race and qualifying.

Thank you, Honda 🇯🇵 Grateful and proud of everything we’ve achieved together over the years. pic.twitter.com/OgU7OLvh9u
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 6, 2025

Given that Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda crashed during FP2, there was a reduction in overall representative run-time, leaving the Dutch driver uncertain about where the team actually stands heading into Saturday and Sunday.

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"It's difficult to say really, I think one standout is of course again McLaren being very competitive, but from our side there's still quite a bit of work to do and things to understand," Verstappen said.