Reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has made a worrying comment about his Red Bull car with fans urging him to take action.
The first two practice sessions of the Japanese Grand Prix took place around the Suzuka Circuit on Friday morning with McLaren continuing their dominance.
Lando Norris topped FP1 before Oscar Piastri went fastest in FP2, the pair are set to battle for pole on Saturday morning.
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However, it was a disappointing session for Verstappen, who has so far struggled to keep pace with the likes of Norris and Piastri.
The Dutchman finished fifth in FP1 before coming home eighth in the second session.
To add to the 27-year-old's woes, Red Bull's sister team, Racing Bulls, finished about him in FP2, with Isack Hadjar third and Liam Lawson fifth.
Speaking after the session, Verstappen admitted he is not feeling 'confident' with the car.
He said: "It was quite chaotic for everyone out there with all the red flags.
"Today has been quite difficult for me. We tried a lot of different things with the car but it seems like a lot of things are not really clicking at the moment, so it's quite difficult to put the lap down."
Verstappen continued: "You need a lot of confidence and commitment around here. At the moment, I don't feel like I can use that so I still have quite a bit of work to do."
As a result of Red Bull's current struggles, fans have taken to social media to urge Verstappen to drive for Racing Bulls instead.
One fan joked: "We have to promote max to racing bulls man we HAVE to do it."
Another tweeted: "Both Racing Bulls finish ahead of Max Verstappen in FP2. We just want to try something…"
A third fan added: "Now put Max in Racing Bulls we might get both the titles."
After replacing Liam Lawson, home favourite Yuki Tsunoda made his Red Bull debut on Friday.
Reflecting on his new teammate's first taste of the RB21, Verstappen said: "I think he started off pretty well in FP1 then FP2 was chaotic for everyone.
"We have a lot of homework to do from our side to focus on the car but I think everything went quite well."
Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing, Fan Reactions
Marcus Chan