Marko doesn't know where Red Bull stands after Friday in US: "Hard to say"
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- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen's feeling is good after Friday's race in the United States, but exactly where Red Bull Racing stands in relation to the competition they do not yet know. Helmut Marko thinks that it is only after the third free practice session that it will become somewhat clear how the Austrian racing team is doing at the Circuit of the Americas.
Verstappen was two tenths slower than Carlos Sainz in the first free practice, which was ultimately good for second place. VT2 involved testing the new tyres for Pirelli for next season, so no really valuable info was gathered. Marko felt it was a pretty lousy session for Red Bull.
Verstappen was sent out on the C1 tyre, the hardest tyre of the bunch. However, for the race weekend in Austin this year, Pirelli has only brought softer tyres than that and so Verstappen was testing a tyre that is not really suitable for this circuit. "Max says it's not an optimal tyre. There he is doing duty by the book and only driving down the necessary laps," Marko is quoted by Motorsport-Magazin.com. "That was for the cat (for nothing)."
Pecking order to be determined on Saturday
Charles Lecler's F1-75 was piloted by Robert Shwartzman in the first free practice session. As a result, Leclerc did not come into action until the second free practice and was therefore allowed some mileage with the normal 2022 tyres. It earned him a first time, but obviously not representative. Two Ferraris top in two free practice sessions, but Marko does not want to take stock yet. "It's hard to say because Leclerc didn't drive," he said.