Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen says he’s not sure if he’s caught up with Scuderia Ferrari, who was dominant in the opening three races.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull F1 Motorsports Advisor, admits that Red Bull Racing has taken the “risk” of bringing an upgrade at the sprint-formatted Emilia Romagna GP.
Max Verstappen dominated qualifying, won the sprint and won the final. On the other hand, championship leader Charles Leclerc was lackluster, with a spin saying he was “too greedy.”
However, when asked if Red Bull Racing overtook Scuderia Ferrari in the 2022 power map, Max Verstappen said, “It’s always hard to say.”
“If you look at Melbourne, it’s definitely different. After all, the details are important.”
“Miami is another big question mark. Some will hit it a bit, others will miss it. I hope it works, but I don’t know at this point,” added Max Verstappen.
Scuderia Ferrari’s F1 team representative Mattia Binotto says he is disappointed with the results at Imola but is aware that the drivers have also made a serious mistake on the home ground.
“Leclerc was pushing to get into the DRS window, but he made a small mistake and had a stupid ending,” said Mattia Binotto.
“Both drivers should have done better.”
But Mattia Binotto admits that Red Bull’s car improvements seem to have affected it and “must admit it.”
“I’m sure we weren’t the fastest car,” said Mattia Binotto.
“But we also couldn’t get the most out of the car.”
“But the season is still long and some development is on the horizon, so we can still keep a smile on our face, and the driver will have the opportunity to do it again.”
1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve also said, “It’s hard to say if Red Bull really closed the gap.”
“The difference so far is that Leclerc and Sainz are making mistakes,” Jacques Villeneuve told Formula 1.
“Red Bull has mainly suffered from a technical setback. Leclerc made a mistake alone, but don’t do it when competing for the title.”
“Verstappen hasn’t made this kind of mistake anymore.”
“This is a really long season, and if you consider everything, it could eventually be balanced.”
“Until last year, we were all wondering if Max could fight for the championship, and he was perfect.”
“Now Leclerc must also show that he can skillfully use the champion’s weapons.”
Category: Category: F1 / Max Verstappen / Red bull