Why Red Bull prioritised long runs during Friday practice in Malaysia

Pulse Sports Team 02:28 - 03 October 2026

Max Verstappen set the pace in the opening Friday practice session ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, before dropping to fourth in the second hour of running at Sepang.

The Dutchman's deficit was largely due to skipping a qualifying simulation on soft tyres in the afternoon. Instead, Verstappen focused on a high-fuel long run with the medium compound, with his run plan also dictated by the threat of rain that ultimately never arrived.

"I wanted to do a long run in case it rained," the four-time world champion confirmed to the media at the end of Friday.

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché also weighed in on the practice sessions, highlighting that tyre degradation will be the decisive factor over the Malaysian weekend. Because of this, the team prioritised work on the medium tyres, sacrificing an outright qualifying simulation on the softs.

"We didn't want to compromise on the long runs, which we feel are the most important aspect this weekend in terms of tyre degradation and behaviour, especially on the mediums. We had no data on them, so we prioritised that, and afterwards it was too late to test the softs," Waché explained.