Max Verstappen's RB19 investigated by Red Bull for 'strange car behavior,' reveals Helmut Marko

Red Bull advisor Hemut Marko recently revealed that Max Verstappen's car had some balance and temperature issues during the first practice session of the Bahrain GP. As a result, the team is currently investigating the car to resolve these issues as soon as possible.

Speaking to Sky Germany, Marko explained that Max Verstappen's RB19 wasn't behaving the way that it did in pre-season testing. Sergio Perez topped the timing sheets in the first practice session, while the Dutchman finished third.

Although Dr. Marko didn't mention exactly what was 'strange' with the car, he revealed that the temperatures weren't what Red Bull had anticipated. However, he mentioned that the car didn't agree with Verstappen's driving behavior. The Dutchman particularly struggled in the slower corners of the Bahrain International Circuit.

During pre-season testing, it was revealed that Red Bull were running their cars much lower than others. However, when asked about whether the issues in Max Verstappen's car were due to the FIA forcing the team to raise their car, Helmut Marko denied it and clarified that this was not the case.

Although it's safe to say that Red Bull will most likely come out on top and resolve the issue as quickly as possible, their poor FP1 session did raise some concerns in the world champion's camp.

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Max Verstappen sums up his FP1 and FP2 sessions of the Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen recently spoke about both of the practice sessions on Friday, March 3. In the first session, the two-time world champion struggled with the balance of the car and eventually finished third, behind Fernando Alonso and his own teammate, Sergio Perez. Furthermore, he continued to have difficulty connecting with the car in the second practice as well. Speaking to on-site media, including Sportskeeda, he explained:

“FP1 was really bad, just couldn’t get a balance which was odd because in testing whatever we tried, maybe somethings were maybe not that amazing, but not that far out, so few things to understand. Even the start of FP2 was a bit difficult but even at the final run even though we were not really having a good reference and confidence up until then with the car- the lap was not too bad in the short run and also the car, we got a bit more connected."

Later on, Max Verstappen managed to find his rhythm with the RB19 and was quite pleased with its pace:

"Then in the long run, I think with all the changes that we made, I was quite surprised with the pace we had. Overall, the car is not too bad in the long run and yeah, I just need to find my rhythm again with the car and just the way the car is driving in short runs.”

In general, the reigning world champion had some eventful practice sessions, but ended the day on a positive note.