Max Verstappen, Red Bull Formula 1 World Champion, believes the rivals have done enough to keep the margin close. He fears that it is doubtful that the team will be able to enjoy early margins of 2024.
The Dutch driver maintains that it is unlikely to regain a similar edge over the competitors as it had in 2023. He shares his fears despite enjoying a great circuit at the Spanish Grand Prix.
F1 will start the triple-header with Spanish, Australian, and British GP’s at Barcelona, the Red Bull Ring, and Silverstone.
The triple header sequence is more suitable for Red Bull RB20, but the rivals have progressed. They can perform well on bumpier & technical circuits in recent weeks.
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Verstappen is excited to return to a circuit that complements the RB20, especially Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. But he accepts the fact that the team has lost its edge.
“No, I don’t think it will be like the beginning of the season,” Verstappen said.
“We know that normally this is a track that our cars should suit a bit more and we’re excited, of course.
“I’m aware that everyone has been catching up a lot, so everyone is quite confident, but if you compare this to the last few races that we have done, this should be a better track for us.
“But still, we need to make sure that it’s in the right balance window.”
In Canada, Verstappen shared his concerns with the team regarding the lost edge. Additionally, he expressed his frustration with the engine issue in FP2.
Moreover, Verstappen dismissed speculations of tensions among the team. He claims that the team is “fully on top” for the race.
“It’s not tension, we always want to do well and we also know that other people are pushing flat out so we just need to have a good weekend like we always want to have it,” he said.
“If it doesn’t go to plan, it’s not a man overboard, we just keep working and keep trying to be better.
“We just had different kinds of little issues every time on Friday that then made it a bit harder. So we just need to try and have a clean start to the weekend. I think that will already help a lot, so we are fully on top of that.”
