Max Verstappen after finishing 4th in Hungary: How Red Bull Racing must now step up

We haven’t yet seen what the Hungaroring is really made of: certainly, Ferrari is setting the pace, world champion Lando Norris is mixing it up nicely in his McLaren, followed by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull Racing car.

However, Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes was unable to set a fast lap, so it’s hard to say where the Italian teenager would have ranked.

Max didn’t have a trouble-free practice session in Hungary. The 71-time Grand Prix winner complained over the radio: “I’m not sitting perfectly; I’m leaning back too far, which is very uncomfortable for my back.”

The mechanics set to work to optimise the four-time world champion’s seating position.

Later, Verstappen warned over the radio: “I’ve hit a piece of debris with the front wing; please keep an eye on that.” Red Bull Racing gave the all-clear: “The data shows that everything’s fine.”

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At that point, Verstappen was on a long run, matching Lando Norris’s lap times in the McLaren. But Max isn’t happy with the set-up yet: “The rear axle is too stiff; I’ve got no grip at the rear.”

Later, the 2022 and 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix winner summed up Friday as follows: “That was a difficult day. It was tricky to find a good balance in the car. We need to make the car’s handling more consistent over a lap and find more speed in race set-up. So there’s still plenty of work to do.”