Max Verstappen expressed his frustration about being passed by McLarens during practice at Imola, while Red Bull’s Helmut Marko admitted the team is lacking four tenths of pace. Despite bringing upgrades to Imola, including a reworked engine cover and rear suspension, Red Bull still struggled to match McLaren’s performance.
Verstappen finished FP2 in fifth place, over 0.4 seconds behind the fastest McLaren. He acknowledged that the team needs to work on their corner balance to improve lap times. Marko noted that Red Bull has made progress since Miami but is still trailing McLaren by a significant margin.
Although there are signs of improvement, with Yuki Tsunoda being close to Verstappen’s pace, Red Bull acknowledges the challenge of closing the gap to McLaren. The team is focused on qualifying and race performance as they aim to address their competitiveness at Imola.
