Verstappen knew about problems early: 'Even then the balance was different'
F1 News
Max Verstappen began the current year just as confident as he finished 2023. Until the Spanish Grand Prix, the Dutchman could cross the finish line in P1 on seven occasions, however, he is winless ever since. But even at the start of the current season, Verstappen could feel something was not quite right with his car.
Even as 2024 started well for Max Verstappen, he was already anticipating difficulties to come. Around the Grands Prix early on in Asia, when only Carlos Sainz could win in Melbourne after Verstappen had to retire his car, he began to have doubts. "I had already realised earlier that the feeling was very different than with last year's car, in terms of balance," the three-time champion told Motorsport.
"At that time, of course, our car was still a lot stronger than the rest, or maybe I should say that the rest was still a lot less back then, so at that time you could still compensate. In the races after that, of course, it got much worse. At one point it was just very difficult to keep up and of course the rest made strides," he added.
A mistake by Red Bull?
Following 2023, when Red Bull could dominate the competition, the Austrians decided their change the concept of their car. The Dutchman first noticed that when he saw the car, however, he is skeptical that is the reason for his team's struggles. "Well, I actually think you can't tell from the outside what is wrong. So that's not the point. In any case, how the car looks from the outside is not the problem."
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen
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5 October 2024
