Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies says watching Max Verstappen seek a fifth consecutive Drivers’ Championship is a chance to see history in the making.
Verstappen has reduced Oscar Piastri’s championship lead from 104 points to 40 over the past four races, as Red Bull has taken a step forward in terms of performance with its car. Mekies says Verstappen’s influence on that win cannot be underestimated as he continues to help push the team forward.
“I think when you look at Max as he drives, you are looking at history in the making,” said Mekies. “He surprises us every time he goes out on the track – with how much he pushes us between one session and the next, how much sensitivity he has to things that sometimes we can see and sometimes we can’t.”
Mekies says the latter part of the season looks to be particularly intense as no team consistently shows better pace compared to its rivals, with Mercedes and Ferrari also in the mix with McLaren.
“I think it’s fair to say that in terms of relative performance [McLaren] no longer have the advantage they had over us in the first part of the season. Even when we won the sprint in Spa, we were still a good half second slower than them every lap. Even in Zandvoort after the shutdown we were probably half a second slower than them every lap.
“So I think that’s over now and we’re in a situation where you go to a race weekend and you have three or four teams that can fight for the win if they get everything they can and produce their car on that track.
“I don’t think anyone is in a dominant position. I think every remaining race will be about which of these four teams gets the track layout, the conditions, the temperatures and the tires right – and then that guy will win the race.”
Verstappen admits he is taking the opportunity to try to close the gap on McLaren as he feels like he has nothing to lose in chasing Piastri and Lando Norris.
“We have had some very good weekends,” said Verstappen. “And of course we also know that we have to be perfect until the end of the season to have a chance, but we will try, and if we succeed, then of course great. If we don’t, we tried everything until the end and kept it exciting and I think that’s the spirit for us.”
“It’s positive pressure. We don’t feel like it’s imposing anything on us. We’re not stressed about it, we just go for it.”
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