Verstappen sees Red Bull staying ahead thanks to the incoming developments
Red Bull continues to push forward with its development program, even though the RB19 already enjoys a significant advantage in performance over its rivals. Max Verstappen believes that this will allow them to maintain a considerable lead.
Red Bull got off to a thunderous start in 2023, achieving a one-two finish in four out of the first five races. However, it has less development time than all of its rivals, partly due to its championship victory last year and also because its testing allocation has been reduced as a penalty for exceeding the budget cap in 2021.
Not worried about the developments made by other teams
Verstappen won last Sunday’s race in Miami with a 26-second lead over the closest rival from the team. Although other teams like Mercedes are expected to make significant improvements in the upcoming races in an attempt to catch up with Red Bull, the world champion believes that his team will be able to maintain their lead.
« We have a decent advantage, especially in races. On a lap, on certain circuits, it’s certain that cars will be close or ahead, as you may have seen in Baku. But I think that the advantage in terms of race pace is quite significant at the moment. »
He stated that Red Bull would be ready to face the development push from its rivals. « It’s not like the others are bringing new elements while we stay still. I hope we can continue as we are currently. »
The advantage of Red Bull in terms of race pace allowed Verstappen to be patient in traffic during the early laps of the Miami Grand Prix. « I just stayed clear of trouble at the beginning because the people around me were trying to gain positions as quickly as possible on the first lap. But knowing that you have a fast car, once everything settled down, you simply try to catch up with them one by one. »
The 2022 world champion quickly climbed from ninth place on the grid to second place, and then continued to chase his teammate Sergio Pérez to win the race. “We had a good pace, I could take care of my tires,” he assures. “Once I was in clean air, it was just about reaching the number of laps we were aiming for. That’s why in the middle of this stint, I wasn’t quite sure if I would make it.”
Red Bull will bring new modifications for the Imola Grand Prix in two weeks. This could once again put the competition several tens of seconds behind during the race.
