Max Verstappen described his Red Bull as “driving on ice” after a tricky Las Vegas Grand Prix Friday practice.
The Dutchman started the weekend where he can secure his fourth world title with a fifth place in FP1 followed by 18th in FP2 – having not set a soft tyre lap, with team-mate Sergio Perez the only other driver to fail to do so.
A dusty track surface was combined with cold air and track temperatures meaning grip was hard to come by the field – with a number of drivers including Verstappen and Friday pace-setter Lewis Hamilton suffering lock-ups in the heavy braking zones – including Turn 14 at the end of the strip.
Reflecting on the running, Verstappen felt the problems were more tyre-related than the balance of his RB20 machine itself.
“It was slippery, we struggled a lot with making the tyre work over one lap and especially on the long run,” Verstappen explained.
“We started off a bit more competitive, but even then, we needed to fine-tune a few things, but the one-lap pace is quite far off, but of course, it is unique conditions, but it is the same for everyone.
“We need to understand what we are doing wrong, but it feels massively tyre-related as the balance of the car is not even wrong.
“It is just that we have no grip, it is like driving on ice at the moment.”
