“Everything is back to normal.” With his usual frankness, Max Verstappen confirmed what the whole paddock thought, namely that in the second half of the 2022 season the Red Bull-Verstappen tandem, net of unexpected events, whizzes ahead of everyone.
Max’s normality is pole position, and so it was at Yas Marina, at the end of a session which, however, had two moments of alarm for the world champion. “When I was about to go out for the first ‘run’ of Q3, immediately after starting the engine, everything suddenly stopped. We restarted calmly, and luckily everything worked again”.
Another mishap arrived in Q2, a session finished by Max in fourth position. “I fitted a new set of softs and suddenly the car in the rear became unstable – explained Max – I couldn’t understand, then with another set used in Q3 everything was resolved. It’s a bit of a mystery.” In the end, everything went as Red Bull had hoped it would, that is, a complete front row and the possibility of showing teamwork designed to wipe out the controversies of Interlagos in the world.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
In the last ‘run’ of Q3 Verstappen went out in front of Perez to give his teammate the benefits of the slipstream. It was a maneuver more in favor of the cameras than a real benefit on the final time, given the distance at which Perez covered his final lap, very far from Max. “I think we worked very well today as a team – commented Checo – it was definitely a positive thing.”
Pats on the back at the end of qualifying and the end of the story that cast the team in a bad light throughout the week, bringing out suspicions about Perez’s conduct in the Monte-Carlo qualifying rounds. On the other hand, despite winning two world titles well in advance, Red Bull’s autumn was conditioned by the ‘budget cap’ dispute and by the image that emerged in Brazil of a broken garage. It was necessary to send a reassuring message before the summer break, and so it was.
The conquest of second position in the drivers’ standings remains on the agenda, confirming a ‘1-2’ never achieved by Red Bull in its history. The goal seems within reach, but Perez pulled the brakes a bit: “It will be a difficult race. I expect them to be strong (referring to the two Ferraris) I foresee a close battle with Charles, an interesting race awaits us.” The data that emerged in free practice saw both Red Bulls stand out in race simulations, the configuration of Yas Marina (two straight lines and 15 very different corners) is the natural habitat for an efficient single-seater like the RB18.
The only potential complication for Perez will be his departure, for Checo it will be crucial not to lose his position to Leclerc. If he runs second (or leader) he will be in an ideal position. Difficult for the opponents to think of annoying the Red Bulls, confirmed today again in the very first positions in the classification of maximum speeds. “It will only be a question of the tyres”, concluded Verstappen, a correct observation, but with the Red Bull seen this weekend it will also be a question of the car.
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