Max Verstappen opens up on the need for a quick fix to damage on his…

Verstappen did not enjoy the best possible preparation for the French Grand Prix, as he was forced to pit during practice for emergency repairs to the bodywork of his Red Bull.

Even in the hi-tech world of Formula 1, the same old solutions apply – a bit of gaffer tape will do the trick.

That’s what Red Bull had to settle for when noticed Max Verstappen had picked up some damage on his car on Friday. He clipped a kerb during practice which affected the aerodynamics of his machine, causing him to pit.

With the clock ticking on the session and no time to waste in preparing for the French Grand Prix, Red Bull needed a quick fix. So technical boss Adrian Newey and chief engineer Paul Monaghan pulled out the tape.

As a result, the Dutchman spent the rest of the session going around the track with a square of silver tape sticking out like a sore thumb on the side of his Red Bull. “A bit of running repairs, you know old school,” said team chief Christian Horner as he explained what had happened to Sky Sports F1.

“You can’t beat a bit of gaffer tape, and aerodynamics go out the window a little bit at that point. Him [Newey] and Pedals [Monaghan] getting full Meccano. It was a bit of damage just on one of the kerbs so it was all sorted out.”

Max Verstappen opens up on the need for a quick fix to damage on his…

Verstappen is not the first to race around with tape holding their car together this season. Yuki Tsunoda, who drives for sister team AlphaTauri, had his rear wing patched up crudely after it split in half in the middle of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Friday proved to be a slightly concerning day for Red Bull with both drivers significantly off the pace during practice. Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were half-a-second clear of Verstappen’s best time, and the gap to Sergio Perez was triple that.

Still, though, Horner says he is not yet worried and believes his drivers are closer than the timesheets suggest. “We know [Ferrari] have had a quick car all year and we can see they are competitive again this weekend,” he added.

“There was only one lap where it looks like maybe they have gone up on engine mode, the first lap on the tyre. We looked competitive on the medium and the soft, and the long run looked reasonably okay as well. It was only a five-lap long run but on the whole, a lot of information to take away from the session.

“If you look at the last little run over the five, six-lap period, I take really comfort in that I think we’re closer. It has been so tight between the two teams in the first 11 races. I’ve got no reason to believe it’s going to be really that much different here.”