Verstappen: The car has understeer.

      Max Verstappen set the third fastest time in the second practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix. After the session, the reigning world champion said that the car had too much understeer and that this problem needs to be fixed on Saturday.

      Yuki Tsunoda was four tenths slower than his teammate and placed seventh in the standings.

      Max Verstappen (3rd): “Overall, it was a calm day and we didn’t encounter any major issues. In terms of pace, both on short and long runs, the car suffered from strong understeer, so we need to work on this tomorrow and try to solve the problem.

      Today, I worked well with Simon. I’ve known him for a long time from his work on the simulator, and he has worked with my teammate for many years. He’s very experienced, and the day was very productive. He got straight into the work, which was great.”

      Yuki Tsunoda (7th): “In both the first and second practice sessions, everything was moving in the right direction. We are still lacking a few things, but I see positive elements, and the team and I will continue working this evening to maintain the pace we’ve gained.

      I feel confident in the car, and I like tracks of this type, where you have to push at high speeds. In the second practice, the car handled much better, and that was exactly what I needed. I am continuing to learn the characteristics of the RB21, so I need to prepare well for the important sessions this weekend. Everything is going well so far, and now I just need to put all the pieces together tomorrow.”