Verstappen cites steering issues in Sao Paulo practice

Max Verstappen finished third in both practice sessions for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with his best time in FP2 just 0.259 seconds behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. He reported steering and downshift problems over the team radio during FP1, describing the car as having turned into a "workout", and returned early in FP2 so Red Bull could investigate.

Verstappen said the session had gone fairly well overall and that the team was working to understand tyre behaviour over longer runs. He said the steering issues would need fixing before qualifying but that there was nothing major.

Team-mate Isack Hadjar had a harder afternoon, finishing sixth in FP1 and ninth in FP2. He said Red Bull had been competitive on long runs in the morning but had struggled to find the right balance after changes ahead of the second session.