Red Bull is in the midst of a year that could become the best in its history, but also in the history of Formula 1. Up to now, the Milton Keynes team has achieved all the victories in the 13 rounds held so far, with Max Verstappen who conquered 11 successes and Sergio Perez the remaining 2.
An up to now unstoppable ride, which has Verstappen as the main architect together with the amazing RB19. But anyone who thinks that the borderline perfect season set up up to now by the pairing formed by Max and the single-seater created by the team led by Adrian Newey was born right from the pre-season tests in Sakhir, might be surprised.
Verstappen, at the end of his home Grand Prix in Zandvoort, first admitted that he had felt the pressure (while a few hours earlier he had denied everything), then explained what was the keystone that led him to fly away to the third title champion of his already excellent career.
It’s easy to think of one of the 11 races won, but what changed Max’s season was the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, staged in Baku. That is one of the two races that he didn’t win and ended up in the hands of his teammate Sergio Perez.
“I think I learned a lot from the race in Baku, about how to do different things with the car, how to do it by working on the set-up. Of course I didn’t win that race in Baku, but I actually tried a lot of things and different parts on the car. That’s why I wasn’t very consistent in the race, but at one point I managed to find a good rhythm with the things I found that weekend.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, celebrates with his team in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“I had damaged my tires a bit too much, but at that point I thought: ‘Okay, that’s a pretty interesting thing for the next races’ And basically I implemented the things I tested in Baku into my set-up and that gave me helped on every trail I’ve tackled since.”
Verstappen has come to his current version of a driver after changing his approach and driving style. At the beginning of his adventure in Red Bull, when he was forced to fight sporadically for the victory of grand prix, he was much more aggressive. Since he is a real title contender, everything has changed.
“It was a question of risk management. If I make a comparison with a few years ago, when I wasn’t fighting for the championship, I’m definitely riding in a completely different way.”
“But that’s okay. I mean, even driving like this, I know I have a car that’s capable of a lot. That probably helps me to be a little more in control, I think.”
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