Anthony Davidson shares issue Red Bull must fix on Max Verstappen’s car after Saudi Arabia practice

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Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson has shared what needs to improve on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull after the first practice session in Saudi Arabia.

Red Bull arrived in Jeddah after a superb performance on track in Bahrain, claiming a one-two in the 2024 season opener.

Commentating on Free Practice 1 for Sky Sports F1, Anthony Davidson spotted something that needs to be sorted out on Verstappen’s car before Friday’s qualifying session.

Davidson spots Verstappen issue during Saudi Arabia GP practice

The incredibly quick street circuit in Jeddah poses a very different challenge to the dedicated track in Bahrain.

Although the streets are now barely used outside of race weekends, the close nature of the barriers in Saudi Arabia makes it one of the toughest tracks to drive.

Lance Stroll proved in the opening minutes of the session how treacherous it can be, kissing the inside of one corner with both of his left-hand side wheels.

He avoided crashing but showed just how difficult it is to go quickly in Jeddah.

Max Verstappen has never taken pole position in Saudi Arabia and Anthony Davidson discussed a problem with his car during the first practice session.

He’ll want everything to be perfect before qualifying and the race considering how strong teammate Sergio Perez typically is around the Corniche Circuit.

Only time will tell if they can sort out the issues before the first session where it really matters.

Verstappen complains over the radio in Jeddah

Halfway through the session, Verstappen can be heard saying, ‘It’s loose there.’

Explaining his message, Davidson said: “It’s just the rear’s loose, we saw that turn 16.

“He turned in and the rear wasn’t there for him and you really need that around this track, you need that rear stability.”

Karun Chandhok replied: “I think Ant, the wind is playing a factor there. You’ve got a tailwind on the entry to 16, I’ve just seen it’s 4.6 metres per second there just looking in our commentary box here and that is, you’re looking at about 17, 18 miles per hour.

“So, it’s going to have a huge effect as you’re trying to turn into 16.”

Davidson added: “Yeah massive, these cars are still heavily affected even though they’re predominantly ground effect cars with the floor as we talked about, they’re still heavily affected by the crosswinds.

“And actually, that’s one thing they find very hard to measure in the wind tunnels.”

A few drivers were suffering during practice with the issue Davidson spotted with Verstappen’s car in Saudi Arabia.

On top of that, Verstappen was also heard on the radio complaining about his power united, saying: “Engine didn’t pick up at Turn 16. Not enough power.”

They have another two practice sessions remaining to iron out any problems.

Judging by Red Bull’s previous efforts in recent years, it’s hard to see them not figuring out what’s going wrong before tomorrow’s qualifying session.