“It’s super slippery”– Max Verstappen, frustrated with the too-tight tyre setup at Portimao causing a lack of grip on the track.
On the first day of the Portuguese Grand Prix, drivers struggled on the grip, causing them to lose timing on both sessions compared to the last year’s Grand Prix at the same venue in October.
Pirelli has brought the three hardest compound tyres from its range of five-dry weather tyres – the C1s, C2s and C3s – to the circuit. Max Verstappen finished a close second to Lewis Hamilton in the FP2 but was frustrated by the situation.
“It’s just very tricky out there with the tarmac again,” said Verstappen. “It’s super slippery. I know it’s the same for everyone, but it’s not really enjoyable to drive.
“Of course, the tyres have changed, and of course we’ve lost a bit of grip from the car compared to last year, but yeah, it’s very tricky out there, and it’s a shame.
“Because it’s all about tyre prep, tyre temperature, and it shouldn’t be like that, but it’s of course like I said before, it’s the same for everyone.”
Should have brought the softer tyres– Lewis Hamilton
Meanwhile, Hamilton also expressed his qualms with the tyres’ grip on the track and suggested that Pirelli should have brought the softer tyres.
“We came here last year and the tyre was too hard, and come here again and the same tyre [compounds],” he said. “They’re [the construction] harder this year.”
“So it feels like we’ve come with the too hard compound in my opinion, it should have been mid-range, C2s, C3s, C4s, but everyone’s on the same ones so we’ll get through it somehow.”
Hamilton also felt that he didn’t have his best on the track on Friday, which mirrors the opinion of Verstappen above.
