On the last day of 2024 Barain testing, Max Verstappen took stock of the situation at Red Bull. The world champion commented on the technical direction taken by Red Bull, with the innovations introduced on the RB20.
The Dutchman made very clear comments regarding the investigation into Christian Horner. He did not deviate from the line expressed by the team principal himself.
“This is not the place where I can talk about this situation. I prefer to focus on performance. It’s my job.
“The best thing for everyone is for the matter to be resolved as quickly as possible. Everyone in the team is focused on their role to make our package faster,” said Max Verstappen.
Unsurprisingly, the three-time Champion was the biggest talking point during the press conference.
Max Verstappen was focused on the preparations for the first race, obviously with an eye on developing throughout 2024
“The team believes that the current car has more potential to extract, and then it’s up to us to extract it.”
A bold project but one that finds perfect support from the driver who wears the number 1. Verstappen has in fact underlined his full confidence in the work of the Milton Keynes technicians, despite the fact that it is a car with very different shapes compared to the previous one.
“Once you sit behind the wheel, you can feel quite quickly whether the sensations are normal or not,” said the Dutchman.
“Unfortunately, on the filming day, it was wet, and I didn’t understand much. But as soon as I got into the car here, the sensations seemed normal.
“The appearance is different, but it is the direction that the team has chosen, and I believe it is the best to take. Now it is my turn to give indications on the balance and where we can improve.”
Max Verstappen started his 2024 in Sakhir in the way he left it in Abu Dhabi. He showed supreme consistency and completed all the work programs planned by the team.
Regarding the car’s handling in Bahrain, Verstappen spoke about the influence of the wind detected on the track:
“I didn’t feel a huge difference compared to last year. But these cars are sensitive to the wind, especially on a track like this, where the wind can affect the balance in turns 1-2.”
Max Verstappen: “I don’t like tests, but they are necessary”
We then saw Max Verstappen again, aware of his available means, already focused on the work to be done to extract the maximum potential from a car that amazed the paddock from the first kilometres on Wednesday.
As we are often used to observing, the Dutch driver certainly doesn’t send word when he has some notes or ideas that differ from the rest of the grid.
Precisely from this point of view, while many agree on the criticality linked to just three days of testing, Verstappen seemed relatively unaffected by the problem:
“I don’t like tests, but they are necessary. Like every year, you plan the work and start to feel comfortable with the car.
“And then you understand which direction to go with the set-up.”
A statement in contrast to that of Alonso, who had been very decisive on the issue, defining such a reduced test program for F1 as ridiculous. At the same time, however, it must be recognized that these are most likely declarations resulting from performance.
The performance front is the only one on which nothing can be questioned at Helmut Marko’s team.
Another issue that Verstappen is passionate about is the sprint format, which the F1 Commission recently revisited.
“It’s a better format in approaching the weekend, not that the race excites me more.
“But at least I think it’s a little better because there is the possibility of changing the car during the weekend. There is more logic in the succession of sessions.”
Author: Loris Preziosa
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
