After the Grands Prix of Portugal and Spain it was clear that Mercedes is still very strong. That had been clear for some time at Red Bull and Max Verstappen. However, the gap between the two teams has narrowed compared to last season, as Verstappen also notices. When he’s talking to Sky Sport Italy When asked how that happened, he answers honestly.
“We learned a lot from our mistakes from last year. Then we thought we would have a very competitive car, but at the start of the season that was not the case. Of course we couldn’t change everything right away, but this year it is.” “We succeeded and we have managed to improve a lot. You can see that we have taken a step forward, but we want even better. It is never good enough, so we keep pushing to go even better,” said the Red Bull. record driver.
Asked whether it is now equal and the two teams are evenly matched, Verstappen is clear. “It’s not an even fight yet, we’re still behind. But that’s okay, we’ll keep working hard.”
This year he is finally competing for the title, unlike in previous years. As a result, his approach has changed somewhat, says Verstappen. “If you fight at the front you can’t make stupid mistakes and lose a lot of points. In the past I could take the risk if we could possibly win a race, because at the same time I knew I couldn’t win the title. If I fight for the championship, I can’t take that much risk, because then I might end up without points.”
“Sometimes you have to choose your fights,” continues the Limburger. “You have to think about it better, but that’s not strange, it comes naturally. I’ve experienced it before, also in karts, that doesn’t suddenly appear in Formula 1. It’s about doing as much as possible. score points, all the time, and you have to choose your moments to shine.”
He certainly did shine in Monaco. As a result, he suddenly took over the lead in the World Cup from Hamilton. Can he really win the title this year? “I hope so, we are close, but there are still a lot of things that need to be improved to be able to fight for the world title. We are currently working on that.”
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