General
Horner: "Verstappen drove his fastest lap with a damaged front wing"
In the second free practice session Red Bull Racing were slightly disappointed. It was expected that the team would be able to compete with Mercedes, but after the practice sessions on Friday it is clear that Red Bull haven't shown everything yet. With ninth place for Max Verstappen and a 13th place for Alex Albon the drivers couldn't be found at the top.
Yet Christian Horner puts the results of his drivers into perspective. "Alex had a number of problems, but we had them under control pretty quickly. Max drove his first few laps on the soft, but he drove it with a damaged front wing", Horner tells F1TV. "Hopefully we can take on Mercedes. They are clearly the favourites now. We have to try to put as much pressure on them as possible."
Protest about DAS today at the latest
The Mercedes DAS-system appeared to be on the car of the German team in the first free practice session. Horner indicates, after the press conference between the two practice sessions, that if there is a protest, it must be done quickly. "As far as I know, we haven't protested yet. If we are going to do that, it's mainly because we want clarity about the system. We have to get that clarity as early as possible in the weekend."
Horner explains why Saturday afternoon or Sunday is already becoming more difficult to protest. "The best thing is to protest now and then see what comes out. It's also the fairest thing to do now, instead of waiting until qualifying or the race. It is a very smart system, but also a complex system. I know that we (Red Bull) and Mercedes have different opinions about the legality, so that's why it's important to get clarity about the system," Horner said during the second free practice.