Max Verstappen was hamstrugged due to balance issues, describing it as the “pretty bad” first day of the UK Grand Prix weekend.
The Red Bull driver waned in 10th place in his first practice at Silverstone, staying more than half a second away from the pace set by Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton.
He improved to fifth in his second practice late in the afternoon, but he faced a 0.498 deficit on Randnoris at chart-top McLaren.
Verstappen, who retired last weekend on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, cut down on the person who contracted when asked to evaluate his performance during practice on Friday.
“It was a pretty bad day for me personally. There was no balance in the car,” he told Sky TV. “It’s also very difficult to push corners down, so I think it’s generally a pretty poor day for us.”
He added: “Every weekend is different, the scenario is different.
“There’s a wind blowing around here right now, so our car seems very sensitive to that, but in general, it wasn’t an easy day.”
Asked if he and Red Bull had the idea to extract more pace from the RB21 than overnight, Verstappen said:
Sky TV analysts and 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button explained that Verstappen struggled with Understeer throughout the day.
Dutch people are known to favor “pointed” cars with highly responsive front-ends.
“The problem is that he was understeered in his first practice,” Button explained. “He had just a stinging rear. Now he’s just understeered, so it’s not as easy as dialing it.
“They can fall into the limits of the front wing, and it is very difficult to make the changes he needs.
“He can’t show what he’s good at. It’s driving a car on his nose. That’s where he gets to his knees.”
Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda quickly finished in 15th place after missing opening practice and giving track time to Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.