“Max Verstappen’s car is absolutely fine”: Red Bull boss says that rear wing repairs in his star driver’s car were just a precaution
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that there are no serious rear wing problems in Max Verstappen’s car ahead of the Mexican GP.
Verstappen was the favorite to take pole position on Saturday’s qualifying session. However that wasn’t to be, as Mercedes ensured a front row lock out for the first time this season. Departing driver Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton. Max will start the race from P3.
Starting third is not what we aimed for. Qualifying just didn’t go our way. Still all to fight for tomorrow 💪 #KeepPushing #MexicanGP 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/ZBsnYhRtns
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 6, 2021
Before Verstappen’s run on Saturday, the cameras focused on the mechanics in his garage who seemed to put some extra attention to his rear wing. A tape was spotted on the right side of the wing which has led to speculation that those problems affected Max’s performance.
Horner on the other hand insisted that it wasn’t the case. He believes that the issue with the 24 year old’s rear wing was not “very serious”.
“We saw something in FP3. We just wanted to add a bit of protection into the rear wing,” Horner told. “It was nothing. It was more precautionary than anything else. So nothing that would affect the performance.
“I think that we were just concerned with a bit of fatigue that we’ve seen, nothing serious. But we just wanted to take no risk on it. “The guys will have a good look at it but the modification that has been done has, I think, addressed any concerns.”
Red Bull do not want a repeat of Mexico 2019
Red Bull were favorites to win the last time F1 visited Mexico City. Mistakes made by Verstappen while racing Bottas and Hamilton took the victory away from them. The Milton-Keynes based team will be looking to avoid similar errors this time around.
“We don’t want an action replay of last time,” said Horner. “Max started third, Lewis got very aggressive into Turn 2, and then a puncture screwed the rest of the race.
¡Buenos dias, Bulls! It’s #MexicoGP Race Day 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/ePATQBFER2
— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) November 7, 2021
“You have got to be there at the finish. We still think we have got a great chance in this race, but it’s certainly harder than it was looking perhaps earlier on Saturday.” he concluded.
Verstappen is currently 12 points ahead of Hamilton going into the race this weekend. The Mexican GP will be followed by back to back races in Brazil and Qatar.
About the author
-
Tanish Chachra •
“I Could Be a World Champion”: Sergio Perez Shoots Title Challenge at Max Verstappen After Spectacular Win in Baku
-
Subham Jindal •
“I don’t try and be someone fake and someone I’m not” – Lando Norris not bothered by ‘funnyman’ image created outside the paddock
-
Aishwary Gaonkar •
Only Once Has a Driver Secured a Podium Starting Outside the Top 10 at the Abu Dhabi GP
-
Subham Jindal •
Renault F1: Conspiracy theory circulating of Mercedes helping out Renault in exchange of them dropping Racing Point charges
-
Sabyasachi Biswas •
Lando Norris Once Again Snubs Daniel Ricciardo With Preference for Oscar Piastri As Better McLaren Teammate
-
Vidit Dhawan •
“I’m Just a New Mercedes Driver”: Kimi Antonelli Wary of Comparison With ‘Big Figure’ Lewis Hamilton
