Tag: Max Verstappen

Marko admits concern that Verstappen could leave Red Bull

Helmut Marko says there are serious concerns that Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull at the end of the season if the team does not improve its performance. Verstappen finished sixth at the Bahrain Grand Prix after overtaking Pierre Gasly on the …

Helmut Marko says there are serious concerns that Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull at the end of the season if the team does not improve its performance.

Verstappen finished sixth at the Bahrain Grand Prix after overtaking Pierre Gasly on the final lap of the race, but was over half a minute behind race-winner Oscar Piastri despite a safety car neutralizing the race with just 24 laps to go. After Verstappen struggled so heavily with tire degradation, balance issues and braking problems, Marko admitted solutions need to be found quickly.

“The concern is great,” Marko told Sky Germany of the fear that Verstappen could leave at the end of the season. “As I said, improvements have to come in the near future so that he has a car with which he can win again. We have to create a basis with a car so that he can fight for the world championship.”

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Verstappen’s chances of a better result were also hampered by two slow pit stops – one for a signaling issue and another due to a slow tire change – and he says it simply compounded a tough evening for him.

“The pace was very bad, but of course I didn’t expect the race that I had, because basically everything went wrong that could go wrong,” Verstappen said. “That probably made it a little bit worse. But I think the position where I finished is, at the end of the day, the maximum that we could have done.

“The brakes are a little bit better because we were allowed to change the material, but the problem is not only the feeling in the brakes, which is still not where I want it to be, but also our tires are just overheating, so when I’m braking there is no feeling, because it’s super easy to lock fronts or rears at the same time.”

Having won in Japan a week earlier, Verstappen said the track layout and surface in Bahrain exposed Red Bull’s weaknesses even more.

“Lacking balance [is the cause], and it’s highlighted even more on this track. When you have no balance and no tire management, or worse tire management than the others, then on this track it’s worse.

“I just feel like we are even worse on tires somehow this year. It makes it just very complicated. Because last year we were not too bad around here. Of course then people made improvements, but I feel like we actually had a worse weekend than last year. So it’s a bit weird.”

Norris not surprised by Verstappen’s Suzuka performance

Lando Norris says nothing Max Verstappen does is a surprise anymore, after being beaten by the Red Bull driver in the Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen pulled out a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday to take a surprise pole position ahead of the two …

Lando Norris says nothing Max Verstappen does is a surprise anymore, after being beaten by the Red Bull driver in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen pulled out a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday to take a surprise pole position ahead of the two McLaren drivers, edging out Norris by just 0.012s. That proved crucial, with track position central to Verstappen’s victory on Sunday, and Norris says he has always known and acknowledged what his championship rival is capable of.

“I feel like I get a lot of questions like, ‘Are you surprised by Max?’ when he does a day like [qualifying] or a race like [Sunday],” Norris said. “And I guess people always expect me to say yes, but I don’t think there is a reason to be. I don’t think I ever have.

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“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Max. But there are those moments that when you’re in the car and when you’re driving, you know what is good and what is not. And I think I don’t need anyone to tell me what Max is capable of doing or whether I should think this or that. Of course, I’ve always got my own opinions, but I’m always going to have the respect.

“I know how good he’s been since we shook hands back in 2015 or something, 2014, and I was half the height I am now! So I don’t need people to tell me these things. And people seem shocked when I say I’m not surprised and stuff like that, but I know how good he is. I know what he’s capable of doing.

“So I would say nothing is a surprise anymore. But I still believe that we’re going to have some good races and we can go toe-to-toe and that some days he’ll come out on top and others I will.”

Despite the trio taking a victory apiece so far this year, Norris believes it isn’t just Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri who will be fighting for wins this season, but for now he sees them as the most likely competitors for the drivers’ title given their consistency.

“I still think at times we’re going to see some more competition from the guys behind. Charles was not that much slower [in Suzuka]. There was a bigger gap, but I think his second stint on the hards was just as quick as mine. I didn’t think we dropped him at all. So other cars are quick.

“I think we pushed a lot in the beginning, and it was a race where you just flat out from the off. It was a quick race. But I think we’re the three who are the most consistent at the minute and putting in the times in quali and putting the good races in.

“But George has been quick this weekend. I don’t know, maybe again, they struggled a bit more in Q3 for whatever reason and then therefore in the race. But I’m sure like if you put a George starting on pole, I think he probably still would have won the race.

“So I think anytime someone does that bit of a better job on Saturday for qualifying, they can have those opportunities come their way. But at the minute, I think McLaren, Red Bull, and probably between us three, we’re doing a better job than the rest.”

Pole ‘very special’ for Verstappen, but race pace remains uncertain

Max Verstappen says his stunning pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix is “a very special one” after unexpectedly beating both McLarens. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were favorites to fight it out for pole at Suzuka, with George Russell an …

Max Verstappen says his stunning pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix is “a very special one” after unexpectedly beating both McLarens.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were favorites to fight it out for pole at Suzuka, with George Russell an outside threat based on the limited free practice running that had been seen. Verstappen had been struggling with his car earlier in the weekend, but his final attempt in Q3 saw him pip Norris to pole by just 0.012s and take his first pole of the season.

“[There was] A lot of happiness when I crossed the line,” Verstappen said. “The whole qualifying we just kept on trying to improve the situation a bit. And then the final lap, honestly, was very good.

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“I had a lot of fun out there, being fully committed everywhere. Some places, not sure if I was actually going to keep it or not. But it was really nice and also great for the team as well.

“It’s difficult [to rank]. I mean, I’ve had some really nice ones also in other places. But I think if you look at how our season started, even during this weekend, I think it’s very unexpected, I would say. And I think that makes it probably a very special one.

“The last lap was just flat out. I mean, around here being on the limit – or maybe even a bit over in places – is incredibly rewarding.”

Despite his starting position, Verstappen acknowledges the McLarens have been quicker in race trim at each of the first two circuits and is unsure if he will have the ability to convert pole into victory.

“We did what we could [in practice]. Now I don’t know,” he admitted. “First, we also have to wait and see what weather we’ll get. And from then onwards, I think it’s very important to just focus on ourselves, do the best we can, execute the race of course in the best way possible. But I don’t know how fast we will be.

“So far this season, we’ve not been able to fight them, but it’s not like we just sit there and accept it. We try to do the very best and we will give it a good fight tomorrow if we can.

“But at the end of the day, it’s a very long championship and you need to keep on scoring points whenever you can in the best way possible, naturally. But at least we’re starting up front and we’ll see where we go.”

Verstappen stops McLaren run to take shock Suzuka pole

Max Verstappen stunned McLaren by snatching pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a new track record at the Suzuka Circuit. Verstappen had been more than 0.2s down on Oscar Piastri’s provisional pole time after the first runs of Q3 but …

Max Verstappen stunned McLaren by snatching pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a new track record at the Suzuka Circuit.

Verstappen had been more than 0.2s down on Oscar Piastri’s provisional pole time after the first runs of Q3 but strung together an inch-perfect final lap to rocket to top spot.

“That is insane!” his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, told him, to guttural screams of excitement from the cockpit.

Verstappen’s final lap of 1m26.983s set the record for Suzuka, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s previous benchmark from 2019 by 0.081s.

The Dutchman hadn’t expected to contend for pole and said he needed to put it all on the line to seal the deal.

“The last lap was just flat out,” he said. “Around here being on the limit or just a little bit over in places is incredibly rewarding.

“We tried the best we could to get the best possible balance with the car, but it wasn’t easy. Every session we just kept on making little improvements. I think that’s where we made the difference.”

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Norris was slow with his first lap, leaving him more than half a second behind Piastri, but rebounded strongly with a purple first sector to take second on the grid, missing pole by just 0.012s.

“I’m happy because I feel like I got everything out of the car today,” he said. “[The gap is] tiny. Was there that much [left] in it? Yes, but Max did an amazing lap.”

Piastri lamented that he couldn’t hold provisional pole after a poor first sector on his final attempt despite ending Q3 with purple times in the second and third sectors.

“It felt good through most of qualifying, especially at the start of Q3,” he said. “The lap just didn’t come together as I wanted.

“I think it’s all to play for tomorrow. We’ve got a great car, just a little bit left on the table out there today.”

Charles Leclerc led the way for Ferrari in fourth, the Monegasque driver 0.316s off the pace.

Mercedes slumped to fifth and sixth with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli after having dreamed of contending for the front row after Friday practice. Russell was 0.335s off the pace, while Antonelli was 0.237s further back.

Isack Hadjar overcame what appeared to be issues with his seat belt to make it all the way to Q3 and qualify an impressive seventh for Racing Bulls – the best Red Bull-backed driver behind Verstappen – ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman to complete the top 10.

Pierre Gasly missed out on Q1 by 0.039s, putting him 11th on the grid ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz – but the Spaniard was subsequently penalized three place for impeding Hamilton in Q2 – and Fernando Alonso in the lead Aston Martin.

Liam Lawson will start from a season-high 13th for his first race back with Racing Bulls, notably outqualifying Yuki Tsunoda, who has replaced him at Red Bull Racing this weekend.

Tsunoda failed to improve on his Q1 time, which left him 0.094s slower than Lawson and 0.498s slower than Q3-bound teammate Verstappen.

The Japanese star and his team will rue being sent out for just one flying lap on softs in the second half of Q2 after a grass fire had sent all drivers back to their garages with just over eight minutes on the clock. It was, however, the closest any teammate has got to Verstappen all season and the best qualifying result for the second Red Bull car.

Nico Hulkenberg qualified 16th after being knocked out of Q1 by just 0.016s. He headed teammate Gabriel Bortoleto by a similarly slender 0.052s.

Esteban Ocon will line up 18th for Haas ahead of Jack Doohan, who failed to improve with his final lap, and Lance Stroll, who spoiled his final lap after sliding off the road and into the gravel while powering up towards Dunlop.

Tsunoda enjoys positive start in ‘tricky’ Red Bull

Yuki Tsunoda says the Red Bull feels “a bit more tricky” to drive in reality compared to the simulator, despite making an encouraging start in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. There was plenty of focus on Tsunoda’s first outing in the RB21 during the …

Yuki Tsunoda says the Red Bull feels “a bit more tricky” to drive in reality compared to the simulator, despite making an encouraging start in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix.

There was plenty of focus on Tsunoda’s first outing in the RB21 during the first practice session of the weekend at Suzuka, and he duly posted a best lap time just over 0.1s off teammate Max Verstappen at a similar time in FP1. The afternoon running was hit by four red flags that meant many teams missed out on representative data, but Tsunoda admits he got enough running to feel the challenges of his new car.

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“Yeah, FP1 was better than expected, a good start for myself,” Tsunoda said. “And FP2 I didn’t set a lap time. I think there is a lot of work to do, maybe slightly struggled or something that we have to look through the data in FP2 more, but so far overall it’s OK. I just have to build up confidence more.

“It’s a bit different to the simulator from what I felt, to be honest. A little bit more than I expected in terms of the car feeling. I knew anyway it was always going to be a bit different in the real car and it was a little bit more exaggerated in the real car. It’s feeling a bit more tricky.”

While Tsunoda is a new addition to the Red Bull lineup, Verstappen has been calling for car improvements for some time, and says the lack of confidence he has in the car is hurting his pace.

“It was quite chaotic out there for everyone with the red flags,” Verstappen said. “So we, like everyone else, couldn’t complete all the things that we wanted to do. But today has been quite difficult for me, just trying a lot of different things with the car. But it seems like a lot of things are not really clicking at the moment.

“It’s quite difficult just to put the lap down. You need a lot of confidence and commitment around here. And at the moment, I don’t feel like I can use that. So we still have a bit of work to do.”

Verstappen also complained of a strange sensation with his whole car flexing during FP1, but says that is an ongoing issue that appears more prominent at Suzuka and will take time to understand. Of more immediate concern for the defending champion is getting a read on how the Red Bull’s race pace is looking on Saturday.

“Not so much [graining] for us. But I was on the soft, so that tire requires a lot of management anyway. You can’t really push that tire. And then I only did like three laps at the end.

“So not really a good read. I think tomorrow, potentially in FP3, you will see a lot of teams trying to do a bit more of a longish run with the time that you have. But yeah, it’s not been an easy day.”

Slick tire gamble worth the risk – Verstappen

Max Verstappen believes a failed attempt to make it to the end of the Australian Grand Prix on slick tires was still a risk worth taking as he was set to finish second regardless. A late burst of rain led to the two leading McLaren drivers slide off …

Max Verstappen believes a failed attempt to make it to the end of the Australian Grand Prix on slick tires was still a risk worth taking as he was set to finish second regardless.

A late burst of rain led to the two leading McLaren drivers slide off the track in the final sector, with Oscar Piastri stuck on the grass for nearly an entire lap. Lando Norris was able to rejoin quickly and enter the pits, but Verstappen stayed out on slicks to lead for two laps before also stopping and dropping back behind the McLaren.

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“We were on the medium (tire), and you never know how that’s going to work out, but I thought it was quite a sensible call with 15, 16, or 20 laps to go when the safety car came out,” Verstappen said. “Then it started to rain. I saw them go off in front of me, kept it clean, and when I saw Oscar rejoining, I thought, ‘Well, let’s stay out,’ because it was only those three corners. The rest was still dry.

“When I continued, basically, the first two sectors were fine – it was just if I could survive the final sector. I think that lap I did was OK. If there wasn’t much more rain coming, I thought it could work. You also have to factor in that even if they caught me on an inter, they’d have to box again for slicks, if it’s not going to rain anymore. So, it was fine.

“I thought, ‘Yeah, we’ll do another lap,’ but then, unfortunately, on that lap, the first sector was still OK-ish, but then in Sector 2, it started to rain a bit too much and we had to box.

“But in hindsight, it wouldn’t have mattered. If I’d boxed with Lando, it would have been P2. If I’d boxed the next lap, it would have been P2. And the lap that I did box, I was also P2. So, we tried something else – it might have worked. In a way, it didn’t work, but we didn’t lose any position, so it’s fine.”

After pitting for intermediates, Verstappen pushed Norris all the way to the flag after another late safety car, but he says he never felt he could make a move and is still wary of the performance advantage McLaren showed earlier in the race.

“I think it’s good compared to the teams behind us. But if you look at the first stint, we were quite a bit off. As soon as the tires started to overheat, we had no chance. McLaren just took off.

“So, we still have a lot of work to do to fight for a win. But I’m happy that we are second here. It’s basically one place better than we should have been. And it’s 18 more points than I had last year at this race.”

Verstappen tests Acura ARX-06

Go behind the scenes with Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen as he tests the Acura ARX-06 LMDh at Las Vegas Motor Speedway prior to last year’s 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, in Honda Racing US’s new 11-minute compilation video of the event.

Go behind the scenes with Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen as he tests the Acura ARX-06 LMDh at Las Vegas Motor Speedway prior to last year’s 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, in Honda Racing US’s new 11-minute compilation video of the event.

Horner admits ‘danger’ of Albon, Gasly repeat with Lawson

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner admits there is a danger of Liam Lawson struggling within the team’s environment by being promoted too soon. Lawson has been picked to partner Max Verstappen in 2025 despite having started just 11 …

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner admits there is a danger of Liam Lawson struggling within the team’s environment by being promoted too soon.

Lawson has been picked to partner Max Verstappen in 2025 despite having started just 11 grands prix, with the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda overlooked to replace Sergio Perez. The Mexican had been brought in after both Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon struggled in the Red Bull seat early in their careers, and Horner acknowledges the risks that are associated with young drivers.

“Look, the danger is there’s a repeat of that,” Horner said. “But I think that Liam is a different character. He’s a different personality to be able to deal with that pressure. I think he’s shown real resilience and strength of character with the opportunity that’s been provided to have to turn up and get on with it and deliver — and he’s done that.

Joe Portlock/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

“The plan initially wasn’t for that to be accelerated for this year. circumstances have dictated with Checo unfortunately not having a great season — that has been accelerated. But we believe where Liam is on the trajectory that he’s on, that will only improve.

“And he drives the car in a similar fashion to Max. He doesn’t shy away from having a very positive front end in the car. So I think in terms of driving characteristic, it will be easier for the cars to run more closely together in setup.”

Horner believes having a clear hierarchy with Verstappen as the lead driver is now a different scenario that should take the pressure off Lawson compared to juniors that have gone before him.

“Daniel [Ricciardo] and Max were a strong pairing. We then had two juniors that struggled. And that’s why obviously Checo then stepped into the car for the ’21 season and coped with the pressures of that well.

“I think the other factor that we’re focused very hard on is making sure that we’re creating a wider operating window with RB21 than RB20’s very narrow, very peaky performance window. So for us, to create a broader window will hopefully only help Liam find a more, perhaps forgiving car than RB20 could be on occasion.

“I think one of the things we’ll be looking to protect Liam from is expectation. Of course, when Alex and Pierre were with the team, Max wasn’t a four-time world champion. He hadn’t won a world championship at that point. We have a very clear positioning in the team with where Max is at in his career and what we need from the second driver.”

Sergio Pérez gets a classy goodbye from Max Verstappen with Red Bull teammate is out

Classy!

Sergio Pérez is out from Red Bull’s Formula 1 team after a rough season that saw him finish a disappointing eighth in the driver’s standings and leaving Red Bull third in the constructor standings.

With reports that Liam Lawson will step up and take over the second spot, that ends speculation about who will race alongside defending champion Max Verstappen.

Speaking of Verstappen, he did something classy for Pérez, sending a sweet message with the news breaking on Wednesday: “It’s been an absolute pleasure driving alongside you. We’ve had some amazing moments together that I’ll always remember. Thank you, Checo!”

Classy!

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Verstappen apologizes to Piastri for Abu Dhabi clash

Max Verstappen says it was was important for him to apologize to Oscar Piastri for hitting him at Turn 1 at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even if he didn’t agree with his subsequent penalty for it. The Dutchman got a good start and had …

Max Verstappen says it was was important for him to apologize to Oscar Piastri for hitting him at Turn 1 at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even if he didn’t agree with his subsequent penalty for it.

The Dutchman got a good start and had already overtaken Carlos Sainz when he attempted a move down the inside of Piastri under braking for the first corner. Verstappen took to the inside curb but was never fully alongside and tapped Piastri into a spin — also pirouetting 360 degrees himself — to put the McLaren driver to the back of the field.

“Launch was good and then I tried to grab the inside, and I quickly realized, once I committed to it, that the gap was closing and I wanted to try and get out of it, because I didn’t want to cause a crash with Oscar,” Verstappen said. “Unfortunately we still clipped each other, but I already apologized to Oscar. It’s not what you want to happen and especially not with him — he’s a great guy. It happened. It’s just a bit unfortunate.”

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Verstappen was given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, one of a multiple handed out for the same infringement during the race, but suggested he was unhappy at the punishment.

“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just happy that the season is over,” he said. “For me, the most important thing that I had to do is just apologize to Oscar, because I have nothing to gain, nothing to lose. I went for it. It didn’t work out. And especially also for him that we both spun. It’s not nice — he’s a friend of mine, so I don’t want to have any, like, weird feelings or whatever, going into the break.

“I don’t understand anything [about penalties] anymore, but it’s fine, whatever. I’m not gonna get angry about stuff like that. It’s not worth my time. Just have a break. Like I said, the most important thing is that I apologize to Oscar, and that’s it.

“I think when you’re in that position, you’re focusing on the car ahead, you commit. How I feel it as well … when you start first or second, you never really looked behind. So I went for it, and then I realized, ’S***, he doesn’t see me there.’ So I was trying to get out of it, but then we still clipped. Of course, that is on me, but I was expecting maybe 20 seconds, 30 seconds, I don’t know, stop-and-go? It’s maybe something to talk about for next time.”