Red Bull issues revealed despite Verstappen practice domination

Ewan Gale
Friday 17 March 2023 19:00

Sergio Perez has revealed mechanical issues partially thwarted his push during Friday practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Mexican finished second fastest in the first hour before slipping to third under representative conditions under the lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Red Bull looks to be in complete control of the race weekend with Max Verstappen easily topping both sessions, but the Dutchman suggested there was an issue with his downshifts during FP2.

READ MORE: Verstappen in command as traffic bedlam sparks Saudi Arabian GP qualifying fears But allaying fears of a deeper issue, the two-time champion said: "It was just functioning things with the downshifts, we do that all the time."

Perez, however, revealed: "We had a bit of an issue with the car mechanically which, hopefully, we are able to sort out for tomorrow.

"That will bring us a bit more pace hopefully and we can have a better idea of where the car is - it was a bit inconsistent and difficult to get a proper read.

"I cannot go into much detail but we have confidence that we can figure it out."

'Long runs fairly close'

Verstappen also came out on top of the long-run simulations but believes the top of the grid remains competitive after a first glance at the comparisons.

"We had a positive day but there are quite a few things we can do better," said Verstappen.

"The long runs all seemed fairly close to each other but it is more because we are just managing the tyres, they don't really let you push around here at the moment.

"It is definitely not like Bahrain."

READ MORE: Saudi Arabia Grand Prix 2023: Date, start time, TV channel and live stream