Verstappen struggles to find rhythm with RB21 at Suzuka

Reigning champion struggles with confidence as red flags disrupt Japanese GP practice sessions

Max Verstappen's frustrations mounted during Friday practice for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, with the four-time world champion admitting he lacks confidence in his Red Bull RB21 at the demanding Suzuka circuit.

The Dutch driver found himself significantly off the pace in both sessions, finishing fifth in FP1 behind championship leader Lando Norris and slipping to eighth in a chaotic FP2 topped by Oscar Piastri.

"Today has been quite difficult for me, just trying a lot of different things with the car. But it seems like a lot of things are not really clicking at the moment,"

Verstappen revealed after the day's running.His struggles were compounded by multiple disruptions during practice.

A series of red flags triggered by incidents including Jack Doohan's crash at Turn 1 and Fernando Alonso beaching his Aston Martin in the gravel severely limited valuable track time.

"It was quite chaotic out there for everyone with the red flags,"

Verstappen explained.

"We, like everyone else, couldn't complete all the things that we wanted to do."

Confidence crisis at a demanding circuit

Suzuka's high-speed layout demands absolute precision and driver confidence, qualities Verstappen acknowledged are currently lacking in his relationship with the RB21.

"You need a lot of confidence and commitment around here. And at the moment, I don't feel like I can use that," the reigning champion admitted. "So we still have a bit of work to do."

With just nine laps completed in FP2, the Red Bull garage faces a significant challenge to address Verstappen's concerns before qualifying.

The Dutchman specifically mentioned car flexing as an issue he's experiencing more prominently at Suzuka.

"It's an ongoing process. I felt it maybe a bit more here. There's quite a bit of warp in some places,"

he noted when questioned about the flexing.

"So yeah, it's something that we're looking into."

Limited running complicates tire assessment

The resurfaced Suzuka track presents additional complexities regarding tire performance. When asked about potential graining issues, Verstappen indicated his limited running made proper assessment difficult.

"Not so much [graining] for us. But I was on the soft. So that tire requires a lot of management anyway. You can't really push that tire,"

he explained.

"And then I only did like three laps at the end. So not really a good read."

Looking ahead, Verstappen expects teams to prioritize longer runs in Saturday's FP3 session.

"I think tomorrow, potentially in FP3, you will see a lot of teams trying to do a bit more of a long-ish run with the time that you have,"

he predicted.

The challenging Friday comes amid broader tensions within the Red Bull camp following the controversial replacement of Yuki Tsunoda with Liam Lawson.

Verstappen had previously endorsed criticism of this decision, stating:

"Well, I liked the text, so that speaks for itself, right? It was not a mistake."

With championship leader Lando Norris showing strong pace throughout Friday's sessions, Verstappen and Red Bull face mounting pressure to recover their form before Sunday's race.