Spanish Grand Prix: Max Verstappen thinks Red Bull could win every race this season

1 year ago 25

Max Verstappen and Red Bull observe winning the Monaco Grand Prix

Max Verstappen says it "looks like" Red Bull could triumph each contention this play but insists that it is "very improbable to happen".

Red Bull person won each six races truthful acold successful 2023, with 4 for Verstappen, and look acceptable to predominate this year.

Verstappen said: "How it looks astatine the moment, I deliberation we can. But determination are ever happening that spell wrong.

"We volition ever person tracks wherever it doesn't enactment retired exactly, atrocious luck successful qualifying, mistakes, whatever."

Mercedes operator George Russell, who said astatine the opening of the twelvemonth that Red Bull could triumph each race, said: "On axenic pace, they person the potential, but I'd similar to deliberation we tin combat astatine immoderate constituent and instrumentality vantage of immoderate misfortune."

A fig of teams are bringing car updates to this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix that they anticipation volition amended the show of their cars.

Red Bull are among them, but Aston Martin, 2nd successful the championship, besides person a car development, arsenic bash Ferrari, portion Mercedes are continuing with the large redesign they introduced successful Monaco past weekend.

Russell said helium believed Mercedes would person 1 of their stronger weekends truthful acold this play successful Barcelona, partially due to the fact that it was their champion contention of a precise hard commencement to past season.

"We are not going to justice thing conscionable connected this weekend," Russell said. "Last year, we had a truly competitory play successful Barcelona. I was connected the podium and Lewis [Hamilton] was truly beardown successful the contention aft a puncture, and we came distant reasoning each our problems are solved. And we got to the pursuing mates of races and learned that wasn't the case.

"I americium definite we volition person a somewhat much competitory play spot successful Barcelona but that doesn't mean we are decidedly back."

Russell said that the tally of impermanent tracks astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth - 5 of the archetypal six races person been held connected thoroughfare circuits of 1 benignant oregon different - had made it "a truly challenging commencement of the season".

Barcelona marks the commencement of a tally dominated by much accepted tracks, excluding the thoroughfare circuit successful Canada successful 2 weeks' time, that helium said would springiness "a amended representation of wherever the car genuinely is and the bid volition beryllium successful a spot much of a settled position".

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz said it would instrumentality immoderate clip earlier immoderate squad was successful a presumption to situation Red Bull, truthful beardown is their car.

The Spaniard said Ferrari's upgrade was "a caller absorption into what we deliberation volition beryllium the close way into making the car much drivable and much accordant successful the race".

He added: "We person been struggling but with this archetypal measurement into this absorption we effort to close the [deficiencies] we have. But is the archetypal measurement of galore steps to come. It is not going to alteration our beingness overnight."

Verstappen said the champion mode to guarantee the tract closes up would beryllium to permission the method regulations the aforesaid for arsenic agelong arsenic possible.

"If you support connected tweaking things," Verstappen said, "some squad volition ever find thing and past it takes a spot of clip for everyone to drawback up."

He added that dominance was a earthy authorities for F1.

"We person ever seen this successful F1, it is thing new,' Verstappen said. "The longer you permission the regs the same, the person radical volition get. Maybe this is thing we request to look at.

"You person the unusual twelvemonth for 2 wherever possibly 2 teams are warring but wide from the 1980s, done the 1990s to present it is has been axenic dominance of a definite team."

Verstappen heads into this weekend's contention with a 39-point pb implicit team-mate Sergio Perez, whose nonaccomplishment to people points aft a hard play successful Monaco has allowed Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who finished 2nd to Verstappen for his 5th podium successful six races, to adjacent to conscionable 12 points down the Mexican.

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