Verstappen blames "tricky" wind for FP2 crash
Max Verstappen believes his session-ending crash during second practice for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix was influenced by “tricky” wind conditions.
The Red Bull driver lost control of the rear of his RB15 as he entered the final corner and flew into the barriers backwards, causing significant damage to the rear-end of his car.
Max Verstappen believes his session-ending crash during second practice for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix was influenced by “tricky” wind conditions.
The Red Bull driver lost control of the rear of his RB15 as he entered the final corner and flew into the barriers backwards, causing significant damage to the rear-end of his car.
Verstappen was among a number of drivers to be caught out in the blustery conditions, with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas crashing to bring out a second red flag just moments after the session resumed, while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel suffered a similar moment to Verstappen.
“I was already complaining all my laps about the wind being really tricky in some places was just losing the rear,” Verstappen explained.
“I got into the corner and suddenly you could see in the data that the rear turned around, so that definitely didn’t help.
“The cars are more sensitive to the wind, as you could see with Valtteri and Seb at one point. Crashes can happen.
“Maybe it’s a good thing because they take the whole car apart so they can put new parts on.”
Red Bull’s drivers showed some encouraging pace throughout both sessions, with Pierre Gasly ending the day third-fastest in the sister car.
Asked if he believes Red Bull can get at least one of its cars onto the second row of the grid, the Dutchman replied: “I don’t know yet.
“We still have a lot of work to do and it can still be better in terms of balance and then we will find out tomorrow.
“It was enjoyable and I was happy in the car and that’s what I focus on. It’s been alright.”
An aerial view of Max's car...
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 28, 2019
His team radio message was quite bleep-y #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/R4JoxXWrYI
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