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Red Bull weighs changes to Verstappen’s car after São Paulo practice issues

Conceptual AI-generated editorial motorsport illustration; not a documentary photograph or evidence that a pictured event, meeting or transfer occurred. · 2026-11-06GPBeat newsroom · News Made Clear generated illustration

Hannah Schmitz says Red Bull is considering several changes to Verstappen’s car and expects a different wheel for the rest of the weekend after practice problems.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · · 1 min

Red Bull is weighing several changes to Max Verstappen’s car ahead of qualifying in São Paulo after he reported trouble with downshifts and heavy steering in practice. Head of race strategy Hannah Schmitz said she expected him to have a different wheel for the rest of the weekend and that the team was “looking into quite a few changes” on his side.

Downshift trouble had recurred for Verstappen that season. He also reported heavy steering on the RB22, describing it as a “workout”; the steering issue led him to end FP2 slightly early.

Even so, Verstappen finished third in both FP1 and FP2. In FP2, he, Lando Norris and George Russell occupied positions P2 to P4, separated by just 0.020 seconds. Schmitz said Red Bull knew which areas Verstappen was unhappy with and could work to improve them. She called the day useful, with work to do overnight and performance still to gain from the car.

Sources 01
  1. PRIMARY SOURCERed Bull ‘looking into quite a few changes’ for VerstappenFormula 1