Max Verstappen has openly admitted that Red Bull lost the least of its performance compared to last year due to the ground changes in F1 for 2021.
For this season, F1 made changes to the floor space to slow the cars down, amid fears that 2020 cars would reach speeds and downforce levels that Pirellis tires couldn’t handle.
As a result, cars with a high rake philosophy like Red Bull and AlphaTauri appear to have benefited from the rule changes, while Mercedes and Aston Martin, which use a low rake, have driven backwards compared to last year.
Verstappen goes into the Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend and is one point behind Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship after winning the last time at Imola.
“I’m happy with what we have with the RB16B. It’s faster, has more grip and better balance,” said Verstappen. “We lost downforce with the ground, but I think we lost a little less than other teams and that shows that we have made a good step forward.
“We’re starting the season well, the best we’ve had since my time on the team. It’s been a long season and if we want to fight for the championship we have to keep improving. “
On the subject of matching items
When Verstappen wanted to take the win at Portimao this weekend, he also showed his changed attitude for this year and how different it is now when he has a car that is capable of challenging regular pole positions and race wins.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Portugal. We were on the podium there last year and I think we have a better car now. I’m looking forward to getting the most out of the car and having some fun out there, ” Verstappen added.
“So far, on every race weekend we really have the feeling that there is a chance of victory. It feels like a different mindset now, knowing that you can fight for pole.
On the subject of matching items
“We’ve definitely learned a lot over the years. I am very excited to see what lies ahead. It won’t be easy, but we’ll do everything we can to stay in the fight this season. “
Sergio Perez failed to convert his front row starting position into a podium at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Despite his bad race in Imola, Perez’s motivation remains “sky high”.
“The motivation is sky high,” said Perez. “The way we work at Red Bull, we prepare our race weekend so that we can get the most out of it because we know that if we do everything right, we have a realistic chance of winning the race.
“Everyone on the team is working hard to improve the RB16B so that we can maximize every single weekend with both cars – that’s the goal. Imola was a missed opportunity as I think we should have finished 1-2 but hopefully we can do that this weekend. “
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