Max Verstappen has reflected on a different kind of Friday at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP, working with a stand-in race engineer and ending the day in a solid P3 on the timesheets.
It was a change of routine for Verstappen during Friday practice at the F1 Austrian GP, with long-time engineer Gianpiero Lambiase stepping aside for personal reasons and Simon Rennie stepping in. Verstappen, who has worked with Lambiase since joining Red Bull in 2016, took the change in stride as he tackled the Red Bull Ring.
Verstappen pleased with stand-in Race Engineer Rennie after straight-forward day
The Red Bull driver praised Rennie’s experience and smooth handover, describing a positive working relationship on the opening day of the F1 Austrian GP.
“I think so far today’s been really good with Simon,” Verstappen said when asked about the change. “Of course I’ve known Simon for a long time on the other side of the garage and working with him also in the simulator. He has a lot of experience, so it’s been actually very good today. He was straight on it and it was nice.”
The Dutchman placed P2 in FP1 and P3 in FP2, though noted there were still setup issues to resolve for the remainder of the F1 Austrian GP weekend.
The 27-year-old assessed the day as “straightforward” as he continued. “Didn’t have any big issues, but just lacking a bit of pace, a bit too much understeer in the car as well in the short run and long run, so that is something that we have to try and get rid of.”
Tsunoda growing in confidence at F1 Austrian GP
Yuki Tsunoda showed progress during the opening day of the F1 Austrian GP. The Japanese driver jumped from P17 in FP1 to an encouraging P7 in FP2, continuing to adapt after stepping up from Racing Bulls earlier this season.
“I think it went in the right direction from FP1 to FP2,” Tsunoda explained after stepping out of the RB21. “We’re still missing bits, or maybe more, but at least I’ve found a couple of positives so we’ll look for more.”
Tsunoda happy with approach to Austrian race
With confidence growing at a circuit known for high-speed commitment, Tsunoda felt more comfortable heading into Saturday’s Qualifying session at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP.
“Yeah, definitely. This kind of track, attacking through high-speed, you need confidence,” he said. “With that, I think confidence in FP2 felt much better – that’s all I need anyway. I’m still learning about this car and you need a good build-up, so so far I’m happy with this kind of approach – I just have to put it all together more tomorrow.”
As the 2025 F1 Austrian GP weekend continues, Verstappen will look to fine-tune his RB21 to remove the understeer problems and maximise the team’s performance on home ground, before Lambiase returns for the British GP.
