Max Verstappen says the way Red Bull has gone about closing the gap with McLaren has given the team a better understanding of the car and its performance.
Red Bull struggled in the middle of the season, with Verstappen taking only a solitary podium (second place in Canada) in the seven races leading up to the summer break. However, since the return in Zandvoort, the Dutchman has taken two wins and two second places from four rounds, and believes team boss Laurent Mekies has been part of a wider recovery.
“I think Laurent is probably too nice in that sense,” Verstappen said of the Frenchman, who described his own impact as zero. “But what is ultimately very good is that we just approach it as a real team effort.
“We always tried to look at the details. We tried to understand what our weaknesses were. And certainly a lot has been picked up since a few races ago.
“Maybe [Singapore] it wasn’t as good as last race weekend, but sometimes you come out of a race feeling a little lost and not really understanding why or how. I think we now understand why and how we can be better. And by asking the right questions – in which Laurent is involved – it just works well.”
While Verstappen is more confident in Red Bull’s understanding of his car, he warns that this does not mean it will always be strong on every circuit due to the RB21’s pre-existing strengths and weaknesses.
“We were more competitive [in Singapore]but I think it’s still not our favorite layout, let’s say that. But maybe some more other circuits will come to us, so we just have to take it race by race.”
Mekies, together with other team members, praise Verstappen for the recent progress, especially for the way the team has not written off the season and has moved closer to the Drivers’ Championship.
“I think everyone worked extremely hard in Milton Keynes, from the first race to now, and never gave up on exploiting the potential of that car,” said Mekies. “It’s fair to say that the progress in recent weeks has been quite spectacular. And it’s a credit to everyone back home who never gave up.”
“It’s credit to Max who, with his sensitivity, pushed us to explore different avenues. And in the end we found a path that allowed for a bit of performance. There is no one silver bullet. So there has been a good flow of updates. There have been different ways to make the car drive.”
“All in all, it looks like we have a competitive package at most tracks. But it’s very difficult to look back and say, ‘Where would you be with the upgrades from the beginning of the year?’ We don’t look back, we look forward.”
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