Max Verstappen has indicated that he hopes that a change to the skid block regulations introduced for the Las Vegas GP will hinder rival teams. The FIA has issued a technical directive that clarifies the rules on skid block supports that potentially help to reduce wear.
The significance is that plank wear over a race is directly related to ride height, and teams run as close to the edge as possible in order to find performance. Last year excessive wear led to the exclusion of both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Austin. The latest FIA TD closes a loophole and could force some teams to compromise on rife height. It is believed to have been prompted by Red Bull suspicions about what other teams have been doing.
Verstappen made a subtle reference to the clampdown impacting rivals when asked about RBR’s current form. “I mean we did make some improvements, of course, with the car since Austin,” he said. “But in Austin in the main race, we were still lacking pace. Mexico was quite a poor race. Now, some things of course since then hopefully, have been changed, not necessarily from our side. And I hope that now, in the last few races, we can see then the full race performance of every car.”
After his superb Interlagos win Verstappen can win the 2024 World Championship in Las Vegas this weekend, essentially if he outperforms Lando Norris. However he has downplayed his chances.
“At the moment, it’s difficult to tell, because if you look at the last few races in the dry of course we didn’t have the pace,” he said. “So it’s not that because we won in the in the rain in Brazil suddenly everything is fixed and everything is looking great. It of course, gave me a good position in the championship. But I also have to be realistic that we’re still not the quickest. I hope that we can be competitive here.
“It’s still very unknown with the track temperatures, of course, like last year, very cold, what that will do with the behaviour of the tyres. So that’s all what we need to again, figure out in practice.”
Verstappen stressed that getting the tyres to work will be key this weekend: “We just keep trying to improve the balance of the car. I think in the sprint in in Brazil, in the dry, we were quite competitive.
“Of course, I’m very happy that I won on Sunday. It would have also been very nice to see the pace in the dry on a full race distance. But here again, you know, it’s so different with tyre temps, just understanding the tyres, how they operate, or making sure that you operate well on both compounds that you use in the race is going to be very crucial. It’s probably a bit more complicated than most race weekends that we have.”
