Verstappen: Red Bull issues 'hard to fix' at opener

Max Verstappen has admitted that Red Bull's grip issues volition beryllium "hard to fix" astatine the Australian Grand Prix arsenic the reigning four-time satellite champion prepares for a hard opening play of the season.

Red Bull -- aft an underwhelming preseason trial -- came into the archetypal circular of 2025 arsenic astonishment underdogs and struggled connected Friday successful Melbourne, with Verstappen lone fifth and seventh successful the archetypal 2 signifier sessions. New teammate Liam Lawson couldn't negociate higher than 16th.

Verstappen was astir fractional a 2nd disconnected the starring gait of McLaren and Ferrari and portion helium insists he's not amazed by the gap, helium feels it volition beryllium hard to close.

"The equilibrium wasn't adjacent wholly out," Verstappen said aft 2nd practice. "Like, nary monolithic oregon large problems. But someway the grip was not coming live and conscionable struggling connected each 4 tyres, really, successful assemblage 1 and the past sector. That means of people that we are not truly up determination astatine the moment.

"The occupation is that it's not truly similar I person large equilibrium problems, truthful I deliberation it volition beryllium a spot hard to fix.

"But it's besides thing that I didn't expect erstwhile I arrived here, truthful I'm not positively oregon negatively amazed with the gait that we are showing."

Lawson said helium was "comfortable, but conscionable excessively slow," though Christian Horner stressed to Sky Sports F1: "The timesheet isn't a existent practice of wherever everyone is, it's an indication."

Red Bull's problems did, however, unfastened the doorway to rivals, and Ferrari appear the happiest of the bunch aft Charles Leclerc topped FP2, with Lewis Hamilton fifth.

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The Unlapped unit marque their predictions for the Australian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris, the favourite for the drivers' rubric this play successful his McLaren, was fastest successful the opening league but past slipped backmost and said: "It's been a bully commencement to the weekend, we've got a bully baseline.

"But surely not happy, similar not assured with the car successful presumption of uncovering the champion equilibrium and being accordant enough, particularly connected debased fuel.

"High fuel, I felt good. Just debased substance was inactive akin to Bahrain, excessively galore inconsistencies, excessively galore problems, truthful a spot of a struggle."

His teammate and location favourite Oscar Piastri said the opening time was "encouraging."

Mercedes, meanwhile, appeared accelerated implicit the agelong runs -- important for Sunday's contention -- but couldn't support up implicit 1 lap.

"There's intelligibly a spot of gait successful the car," George Russell said. "It's conscionable getting the astir retired of the tyres, truthful we request to recognize wherefore that is."