Max Verstappen has praised Red Bull for working “really hard” in a bid to improve the RB21 and get on terms with current Formula 1 pace-setters McLaren, but admits their latest upgrade package is unlikely to deliver any “magic”.
Verstappen and Red Bull start the first European leg of the season in Imola with significant deficits in the World Championship standings – the Dutchman sitting 32 points down on Oscar Piastri and the team a whopping 141 away from McLaren.
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It comes after a dream start to the season for the reigning Teams’ Champions, who have won five of the first six races and dominated last time out in Miami – Verstappen breaking their run via an inspired display at the Japanese Grand Prix.
With the F1 paddock setting up at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Verstappen highlighted the effort being put in behind the scenes to close the gap to McLaren, and to chip away at their respective points advantages.
Verstappen and Red Bull sit third in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ standings after six races
Speaking in the team’s event preview, he said: “I have been back at the factory with the team on the sim this week, which has been good. The team has been working really hard and we will need to hit the ground running.
“Imola is a really old school and iconic track that is really technical and I always enjoy racing here. It is difficult to overtake so Qualifying will be key here.
“Imola marks the team’s 400th race this weekend; we have had a lot to be proud of over the years and smashed so many records, so it is great to be able to look at what team has built and, of course, for us keep pushing to achieve more.”
When he faced the world’s media on Thursday, the reigning four-time World Champion shared his first thoughts on the latest upgrade package Red Bull are set to debut – and what the new parts might deliver.
“I mean, we have been constantly upgrading the car, trying to find little bits of performance,” he commented, following floor updates that were rolled out at the Miami International Autodrome.
“This track is not suddenly where the magic happens, but of course we would like to be a little bit faster. At the moment, I don’t know how much that’s going to bring us, to be honest.”
Tsunoda is looking to edge closer and closer to team mate Verstappen
Verstappen’s team mate, Yuki Tsunoda, also pondered the potential impact of those new parts, as well as how it might affect his ongoing adaptation to the car and team – having scored points in two of his four Grands Prix since being promoted from Racing Bulls.
“I don’t know exactly how much performance they’re expecting to gain, but I don’t think it’s going to be massive,” he commented. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it will make… suddenly a P1 car. The difference we saw in Miami [to] McLaren is quite big.
“Still, for myself, I have a lot of work to do to close up the gap, and to understand the car 100%. I’m just going to focus on that area. At least it’s a good opportunity this weekend that I get a little bit closer car to Max, and see how the car is going to behave.”
He continued: “Stepping into the new car from Suzuka, it’s still [only] the fifth race. My target… it’s not like a result, but I want to understand my car. Even though it’s slowly, slowly increasing the pace, increasing the confidence, I’m quite happy with it.
“It’s better than nothing, I’m sure, and I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. Hopefully I’ll be close as soon as possible to Max and help the team.”
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