Red Bull brought one of their largest upgrade packages of the season to Austria, and their reward was spending the opening phase of FP1 pushing Max Verstappen back into the garage. Twice.
Anti-Stall, Then Anti-Stall Again
Verstappen attempted to leave the pit box and immediately ground to a halt. Over the radio, he explained the issue with characteristic bluntness: every time he released the clutch, the car dropped into anti-stall. Mechanics sprinted out in the Austrian heat to push him back in. Problem solved, they thought. Then it happened again. The four-time world champion sat in the cockpit, shaking his head, as the crew jogged out to retrieve him a second time.
Meanwhile, team-mate Isack Hadjar was going nowhere fast for a different reason entirely. His car was still in pieces at the start of the session following a last-minute engine change, costing him the best part of the first thirty minutes.
Mekies Offers the Explanation
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies addressed both situations during the session.
“With Max, we had a difficult start with a few software glitches, which is why we were stuck in the garage for a while. But that’s resolved now, so we can focus on the considerable amount of homework we need to do to prepare for the weekend.” – Laurent Mekies
On Hadjar, Mekies was equally candid: “With Isack, we had an issue before the session started which forced us to change his engine at the last minute. The guys did a fantastic job, but it cost us the first half-hour.”
Software glitches and emergency engine swaps. Not exactly the composed arrival you want when you’ve turned up with a seven-part upgrade package and the entire paddock is watching to see if you can close the gap to Mercedes.
Context Makes It Worse
Once Verstappen finally got going on soft tyres, he posted the third-fastest time, though rivals were on mediums. There is real pace in the updated RB22, but Mekies was careful to manage expectations.
“Max is always very direct, which has certainly helped. But honestly, he’s only completed three quick laps so far. We’re analysing the data, but it’s very early to draw any conclusions.” – Laurent Mekies
Verstappen wasn’t alone in suffering either. Lando Norris also sat in the McLaren garage for the opening stint with a hydraulic issue, as Mercedes dominated the early running.
Much to Prove, Little Time Wasted
Red Bull insist everything is fixed. But arriving with your most significant upgrade of the year and spending the first practice session in firefighting mode is not the ideal narrative, especially when you’re 34 points adrift of your own junior team in the constructors’ standings. The upgrades may well deliver. Whether the chaos of FP1 matters by Sunday is another question entirely.
