Max Verstappen believes Red Bull are on the right track - but has warned his team can take nothing for granted in Miami.
The reigning F1 champ is more confident of his car’s set-up following his success at Imola and is confident the technical hiccups that stalled his start to the season have been overcome. But with the sport heading into unknown territory next week as it crosses the Pond, the Dutch ace says Red Bull cannot rest on their laurels.
A disastrous start caused by fuel problems has now been rectified, leaving Verstappen and his team in a much better place after their encouraging pre-season testing in Barcelona vanished into thin air when the competition got underway. He said: “The problems came unexpectedly - but the team has proved in the past it can solve problems.
“And we needed this. I’d already retired twice in the first four races and you don’t want that if you want to fight for the championship. We were really on top of it in Italy. The car was very good and we didn’t make any mistakes. That was important.
“But there is still a big question mark for everyone in Miami. You can be completely right on one circuit and wrong again one week later. It’s all about the details. As an example, the tyres are still sensitive. Ferrari were fast at Imola and Charles Leclerc initially drove with me during the sprint race on Saturday - but his tyres then got heavier.
“That’s exactly what happened to us in Melbourne. That’s why Miami will be a big question mark for everyone.”
Verstappen’s boss, Red Bull chief executive officer Helmut Marko, has instructed the mechanics to make the car lighter in two updates since Barcelona. He said: “We are still learning but the car’s set-up is now more accurate.
“These cars are refined but it’s very tight, particularly with the tyres. We’re still overweight, but that’s not surprising, if you go to Weight Watchers, you don’t lose all your weight in just one week.”
Despite the early-season teething problems, Verstappen does not seem overly worried by the advantage held by Leclerc and Ferrari, going into Miami’s inaugural race - the 11th venue in the United States to host F1. He currently trails the Monegasque driver by 27 points but is not particularly concerned, adding: “What we saw last year is that drivers can go up and down quickly in the standings.”
However, it seems that Verstappen Snr, former F1 driver Jos, was happy to rub salt into Mercedes’ wounds after their disappointing show in Italy. Writing in his column on verstappen.com, the 50-year-old could not resist a dig at Lewis Hamilton, who was lapped by his son last week during a worrying turn for the Silver Arrows.
He said: “Honestly, after what happened last year, I found it beautiful that Max could lap Hamilton. He was struggling - big-time. Hamilton’s team-mate, George Russell, seemed better balanced. It doesn’t happen very often that you get the chance to lap a Mercedes.”
