Red Bull's Formula 1 team encountered significant balance issues during Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix, leaving drivers Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar well off the pace. Team principal Laurent Mekies described the squad as 'very far' from the frontrunners, citing fundamental problems with the RB22 car. Verstappen warned there is 'no easy fix' for the woes.
At Suzuka, Red Bull introduced upgrades to its RB22, including a revised sidepod, engine cover, and floor geometry tweaks. However, the changes did not yield the expected results. In FP1, Verstappen finished seventh, 0.8 seconds behind leader George Russell of Mercedes. By FP2, set-up adjustments shifted the car's balance from understeer to oversteer, particularly in medium-to-high-speed corners like the Esses in sector one. Verstappen ended the day in 10th, 1.3 seconds off Oscar Piastri's McLaren pace, while teammate Isack Hadjar was 15th, a further 0.3 seconds back. Max Verstappen said, 'We just struggled a lot more with the balance of the car, grip. 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.' Team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the depth of the issues to Sky Germany: 'We are very far, lacking quite a lot of performance. We have been unable so far to give them a car they could push with. So, we have quite a few fundamental things to sort out on our side.' He added that problems extend beyond balance, especially in high-speed corners, and may require weeks of work. Chief engineer Paul Monaghan noted the upgrades were a 'mighty effort' from Milton Keynes but highlighted other unhappy aspects of the car. The struggles follow a tough China weekend where Verstappen retired from sixth in the grand prix. Hadjar, promoted this season, reflected that the car is 'not the lightest' and 'just not fast enough,' showing more inconsistency than in Melbourne. Red Bull sits level on 12 points with Racing Bulls after two rounds. Mekies emphasized solving the limitations quickly as part of the competitive process.
