Max Verstappen acknowledged his Red Bull is “bleeding a lot of lap time” following a challenging Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix, where severe balance issues left the four-time world champion struggling for pace at Suzuka. The Dutch driver finished seventh in FP1 and dropped to 10th in FP2, ending the day 1.3 seconds behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and expressing concern about his RB22’s inability to find a consistent setup window.
The reigning champion’s difficulties began in the morning session where he complained of poor rotation, finishing eight tenths behind Mercedes’ George Russell. Red Bull’s attempts to address the understeer in FP2 appeared to overcorrect the problem, creating oversteer that particularly hampered Verstappen through Suzuka’s challenging Esses section. While other drivers including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also struggled with car stability in windy conditions, Verstappen’s issues appeared more fundamental.
“We just struggled a lot more with the balance of the car, grip,” Verstappen explained after Friday’s running. “I had two opposites today and the problem is that we never get it together, basically. You go from one extreme to another extreme. And that is just bleeding a lot of lap time.” The Dutchman emphasized that while the problems differ from those experienced in China, Red Bull remains significantly off the pace in medium to high-speed corners.
Verstappen’s assessment suggests Red Bull’s current struggles run deeper than simple setup adjustments, with the driver warning that solutions won’t come overnight. “I don’t think it’s an easy fix overnight. A few things that are not going right at the moment,” he admitted, highlighting the team’s ongoing challenges in understanding their car’s behavior. The difficulties were compounded by teammate Isack Hadjar finishing 15th, three tenths further back, underlining the widespread nature of Red Bull’s current performance deficit at the Japanese circuit.