Max Verstappen doesn’t do diplomacy when he’s unhappy, and the Dutchman made his feelings crystal clear on Friday after finishing a distant sixth in second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, four-tenths down the road from championship leader Kimi Antonelli and nowhere near the sharp end.
The reigning world champion didn’t hold back when quizzed about his maiden outing on Madrid’s brand-new high-risk hybrid street circuit on the city’s outskirts, delivering a verdict that won’t please the promoters one bit.
“I’m not a fan of street circuits,” Verstappen declared bluntly. “That will never change. And I will always prefer to drive on a track like Spa (in Belgium).”
He did throw the organisers a bone, acknowledging the quality of the infrastructure and layout. “But what they have done in the way they have built everything up, I think they’ve done a really good job. But I am not a fan of street circuits.”
Red Bull stuck in the midfield mire
The three-time world champion’s lukewarm day on the Madring circuit saw him finish a frustrating sixth place that confirmed Red Bull’s struggles are far from over. Verstappen admitted the result came as no shock, with his team still searching for the sweet spot on a circuit he’d already labelled “challenging”.
“From our side, it’s more or less where we are,” he said matter-of-factly. “We just need to work a little bit more on the balance and try to get more out one lap and then see how the tyres hold up on the long run, but I guess everyone is in the same boat.”
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His Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson, deputising for the injured Isack Hadjar, fared even worse, languishing in 10th as Mercedes and Ferrari monopolised the timesheets throughout a surprisingly incident-free day.
Lindblad shines despite shunt
Contrary to paddock predictions of carnage and chaos, the Madrid circuit produced just one red flag across two practice sessions, a minor miracle given the drivers’ pre-weekend doom-mongering about multiple crashes and stoppages.
That solitary stoppage came when Racing Bulls’ electric rookie Arvid Lindblad binned it in second practice. But the youngster dusted himself off to post the fourth-fastest time of the day, an impressive recovery that turned heads up and down the pit lane.
Antonelli topped the timesheets ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and veteran Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell rounding out the top five in the second Silver Arrow. Lindblad’s P4 slotted in nicely behind that lot, proving his pace was no fluke.
McLaren’s nightmare unfolds
While Red Bull grappled with balance issues and Ferrari flashed ominous speed, McLaren endured an absolute shocker. Oscar Piastri salvaged seventh, but his team-mate Lando Norris managed a paltry two laps before limping into the pits with terminal gearbox gremlins in the second session.
“That’s a big setback for him,” admitted McLaren technical director Mark Temple, the understatement of the weekend. “Going into FP3, we’ll be trying to do as much as we can to give him back track time.”
Norris now faces a frantic Saturday morning scramble to get up to speed on a circuit he’s barely sampled.
For Verstappen, the street circuit gripes will continue. For Norris, the weekend’s already gone sideways. Madrid might have delivered a smooth opening day, but the drama’s only just beginning.
