Max seventh in Bahrain FP2: 'A lot of issues with grip'

Published on 11 April 2025 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished seventh in the second practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, after sitting out FP1 in which rookie Ayumu Iwasa drove the RB21. Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Yuki Tsunoda clocked the eighteenth best time. McLaren set the pace with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The former clocked the quickest lap around the Bahrain International Circuit.

“It was difficult. Of course, it took one or two laps to get in the rhythm, but the gap is huge. I’m not at all happy, we have a lot of issues with the grip”, explained Max after Friday practice. “We are just too slow. To be honest, the long runs weren’t very fun. In the end I was even doing some drift practice. The gap to the McLarens is big.”

At the start of the session, Max heads out on the soft Pirelli tyres. After a first, purple sector, the Dutchman aborts his timed effort after a slide in turn ten. “The way it drives is very bad, the car is bouncing a lot”, reports the reigning champion on team radio. In the subsequent lap, Max sets the third fastest time behind the Ferrari of Lewis Hamiton and Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.

For his second run, Max again uses softs and goes quickest. The Red Bull racer cannot enjoy the top spot for long as the two McLarens, the two Mercedes and Isack Hadjar’s RB all go quicker. It means that Max sits in sixth at the halfway point of the session.

After his third stint on the softs, Max reports: “Again the brakes don’t work in the final corner.” The brake issues continue through the remainder of the session. Max focusses on long runs and therefore does not better his time, finishing the session in seventh, trailing Piastri by eight tenths.

Contest GP Bahrain: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

Results second free practice Bahrain: