‘We’ve had worse Fridays!’ – Verstappen feeling ‘more positive’ after practice in Spain despite wanting ‘better feeling’ from car

Max Verstappen was left feeling generally more positive about Red Bull’s performance on the opening day of action at the Spanish Grand Prix in comparison to previous Fridays, despite admitting that he still wants to find a “better feeling” from the car.

After entering the weekend with hopes of repeating the performance he experienced two rounds ago at Imola – where he scored his second win of the season – Verstappen kept himself near the top of the timesheets during both practice sessions in Barcelona, having ended FP1 in second before placing third quickest in FP2.

FP2: Piastri tops the timesheets ahead of Russell and Verstappen during second practice in Spain

Reflecting on how the day had gone after jumping out of the car, the World Champion explained: “It’s always nice to be here – the track is always very enjoyable to drive. It’s quite hot out there as well, especially for the tyres. But I think it was an okay Friday – we’ve had worse Fridays!

“I felt a bit happier with the car, we’re still not where we want to be but it was definitely a bit more positive.”

Pushed on whether he has yet reached the feeling of Imola that he was targeting, Verstappen responded: “No, not… I mean every track is a bit different but the feeling, I still want a better feeling from the car. But I’ve also had Fridays where we were completely out of it, so it’s a bit more I would say in the middle.”

The Dutchman also suggested that he had not witnessed any significant changes from the introduction of a Technical Directive regarding front wing load tests in terms of the pecking order, adding: “I mean if you look at the standings, not a lot [is different]! From my side that was also not really expected.”

EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about the Spanish Grand Prix front wing Technical Directive

On the other side of the garage, it proved to be a more difficult day for Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver admitting that he was unclear on why he was some way off the pace as he finished Friday’s practice sessions in P9 and P13 respectively.

“[It was] tricky,” Tsunoda explained afterwards. “To be honest, in terms of first day compared to other Grands Prix, it felt pretty smooth. Myself, I think I made progress from FP1 [to] FP2. To be honest, I don’t have any idea why I am slow.

“The lap was pretty good as well during FP2, and obviously it’s not fully 100% but it’s not the gap that I expected. It’s hard to even tell what kind of exact limitation I have, in terms of balance it’s okay. I’ll have to see what we can improve, but [we’re] struggling.”

Looking ahead to the work that will be required overnight ahead of Saturday’s Qualifying, Tsunoda voiced his hopes that a solution can be found.

FP1: Norris sets the pace from Verstappen and Hamilton during first practice in Spain

“Hopefully we can find something, otherwise it’s really tough,” he conceded. “It’s not like I had a massive mistake and I’m behind compared to competitors quite a lot – if I had [made a] mistake with that result, I’m happy actually, but it’s not like that.

“[It] probably will be a longer night than usual. I’ll try my best to find the solution, but currently it’s not very clear.”