​Motorsport photoRed Bull admits it still has work to do after Friday’s Formula 1 practice sessions in Mexico City.Max Verstappen ended the day fifth, three tenths off the pace, but that was despite damage sustained in an incident with Liam Lawson. Verstappen described the moment in the media pen as ‘not very smart’ from the Racing Bulls driver, given that Lawson is still fighting for his seat.The stewards handed both drivers a one-place grid penalty, which is naturally the most frustrating consequence for Red Bull, although the incident also affected Verstappen’s practice day – particularly as it was the Dutchman’s only session of the day, with Ayumu Iwasa having taken his place in the RB22 during first practice.“The bargeboard, or whatever this thing is called, was broken off. So of course you lose downforce because of that,” Verstappen said when asked by Motorsport.com about the extent of the damage.With that loss of downforce in mind, the gap to the fastest Ferrari did not look too bad at all, although Verstappen was still not entirely satisfied with the balance of his car.“It was not bad, but there’s still a few things that I want to improve,” he added. “Of course, I only had one session and I think it’s not amazing for everyone out there in terms of grip.“So whatever you feel yourself, you then look at the onboards of everyone else and I think no one is really having a good time in terms of driving. So yeah, I just need to find a little bit more pace in our car to make a little jump up.”While Verstappen refers to the feeling behind the wheel and the onboard footage of other drivers, he adds that he is not particularly enjoying the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in 2026. The extreme altitude always means drivers experience less grip and downforce, but under the new technical regulations with active aerodynamics, that is even more pronounced.“It’s even more sliding, you need to be very patient with your driving,” Verstappen explained. “Personally, it’s not the most fun, but you also know that it’s a different challenge. You just need to try and understand it more.”Like Verstappen, technical director Pierre Wache acknowledges that Red Bull still has work to do, and he pinpoints the main problem to address.“At the moment, the balance is a little bit disconnected between the front and the rear – the front in the braking phase and at the apex and afterwards the rear while turning. It’s clearly a little bit disconnected and we are trying to fix that for tomorrow”, Wache said when asked about the main limitations by Motorsport.com.Verstappen’s damage naturally made it more difficult for the team to get a clear picture of the car’s actual balance on Friday.“I think it’s an overall grip level that we were losing. Based on our analysis, it was balance damage at the front and rear. It’s clear that it affects the overall level of grip that you feel and the confidence that you can have in the car. Let’s see tomorrow when th