Against McLarens Pace, no herb has grown for world champion Max Verstappen in Spielberg on Friday, the Dutchman has to surrender to Lando Norris and Oscar Piatri in the second training session of the day, sorts out as third in just over three tenths behind the best time.
“I think it was a very uncomplicated day, we didn’t have any major problems,” in principle Verstappen wants to emphasize the positive: “But we just lack a little pace, and the car has too much understeer in the short and in the Longrun,” is the first conclusion of the Red Bull pilot: “This is something that we absolutely have to get under control.”
However, this undertaking is not easier for Verstappen at the weekend, as he has to do without the well -coordinated collaboration with his racing engineer Gianpiero Lambiase in Spielberg: for personal reasons, the Italian is missing from Austria.
Alonso, Raikkonen, Webber, Ricciardo: Rennie has experience
At least an old acquaintance takes on his role at the command stand and in the ear of Verstappen: Simon Rennie acts as a racing engineer of the world champion at the weekend. The Briton started its Formula 1 career in 2004 at Renault as a data engineer of Fernando Alonso.
Later he was a racing engineer for Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus before moving to Red Bull in 2013, where he initially worked with Mark Webber and later with Daniel Ricciardo. After the Australian’s departure, Rennie moved to a different position within the team in the factory. Thanks to its various roles in the organization, it is a familiar face – also for Verstappen.
In any case, he praises after the impressions on Friday: “So far it has been going really well with Simon. I have been knowing Simon from the other side of the garage for a long time, we also work together in the simulator. And of course he brings a lot of experience with,” says Verstappen: “Today it was really very good – he was right immediately and it was fun.”
Red Bull is currently assuming that LamBiease will return at the Grand Britain’s Grand Prix in Silverstone next weekend. After several promotions, Lambias has long since taken on a superior role in the team that goes far beyond working on Verstappen’s car – which makes its lack of Milton Keynes troops all the more painful …