The air at Silverstone was thick with anticipation on Friday, but Max Verstappen cut a frustrated figure as he described his day with Red Bull as “quite a bad day” during the opening practice sessions of the 2025 British Grand Prix weekend.
The four-time world champion’s usually unflappable demeanour was replaced with rare Candor., as he admitted the team was struggling to match the form that saw them dominate previous seasons.
For the second consecutive race weekend, Red Bull found themselves outpaced by rivals McLaren and Ferrari. Verstappen, who currently sits third in the drivers’ standings, finished only tenth in the first session and improved to fifth in FP2, leaving questions swirling about the team’s ability to challenge at the front in the changing conditions at Silverstone.
“For me personally it was quite a bad day,” Verstappen told F1TV at Silverstone. “Just no balance in the car, it’s very difficult corner to corner as well, so yeah, quite a poor day I think for us in general.”
When asked whether gusty conditions around the high-speed circuit had contributed to his struggles, Verstappen was blunt: “A lot. But that’s of course not an excuse because everyone has to deal with that, right? So it’s not easy, but same for everyone.
“Every weekend is different scenarios, right? Now with the wind around here, it seems like our car seems quite sensitive to it, but in general it’s not been an easy day.”
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Despite his frustration, the Dutchman’s long-run pace showed signs of promise—matching the leaders from McLaren, yet Verstappen was clear that major improvements are needed.
“[There are] maybe a few that we’ll look at, but I think overall, we’re just lacking a bit of performance,” Verstappen admitted.
Horner Promises “Tools” for Verstappen
The uncertainty around Red Bull’s on-track form has coincided with swirling rumours regarding Verstappen’s long-term future. With talk of a potential move to Mercedes never far from the headlines, team boss Christian Horner found himself facing tough questions from the media.
Despite Verstappen’s assurances of loyalty, Horner carefully dodged offering absolute guarantees, instead focusing on Red Bull’s ongoing efforts to remain competitive.
“We’re investing in our tools, we have a new wind tunnel coming online, within the next 12 months that will be completed, we have other tools and of course you’re always strengthening and tuning your organisation,” Horner told the press, including Total-Motorsport.com.
“We’ve got great strength in depth in the team and for sure you’re always looking at where we can be better and I am confident we will do that.”
Addressing specific issues at Silverstone, Horner pointed to a persistent understeer that was costing the team valuable time in the slower corners.
“We’re giving away 90 percent of our lap time in Turn 6 and 7, so that the slow speed and turning back into the wind there, but the rest of the lap is looking pretty decent and actually the long run if you look at the times look pretty sensible,” Horner added.
“So I think we’ve got something we can work with. We’ve just got to make sure we tune it overnight the right way.”
While Verstappen is no stranger to voicing concerns on Fridays only to rebound for qualifying and the race, the British Grand Prix presents a unique challenge for Red Bull, whose recent struggles have invited doubts from inside and outside the paddock.
As the Silverstone crowd awaits the next twist in the championship battle, the focus is on whether Red Bull’s promised upgrades and overnight adjustments will be enough to close the gap—and if they can convince their star driver that the grass is not greener elsewhere.
