“I’m not worried at all”– Max Verstappen dismisses extreme sidepod innovation by Mercedes

Max Verstappen is not worried about Mercedes having an extreme sidepod design which has caused a massive stir in the F1 circle.

When Mercedes appeared for the Bahrain testing, their sidepod design aroused eyeballs around them. On Thursday, AMuS even reported that Christian Horner finds the design illegal. But Red Bull later released a statement calling it false.

Now, when Max Verstappen asked about the designs used by Mercedes, the Dutchman claims he is not affected by the designs. He claims that he needs to focus on his team and find other departments to develop.

“No, I’m not concerned,” said Verstappen. “We can only focus on ourselves. I said this so many times last year, and we have to do it again this year, even if the cars look a bit different.”

“There are so many unknown things, what we need to learn about, so I’m not worried at all,” he added. Verstappen is among the candidates to challenge for the title this year.

Also read: Pierre Gasly fondly recalls the last lap championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton

George Russell is proud of innovation by Mercedes

Russell further talks about the innovation by Mercedes. He claims that he is proud of his team for thinking out of the box. However, the creation should click and bring in results.

“I guess it looks interesting, but it’s not about how it looks. It’s about fast it goes. It obviously caught a few people’s eyes this morning,” said Russell.

“From my side, I’m proud to be part of a team that’s pushing innovation, and all this hard work, blood, sweat and tears going into something pretty spectacular being pulled off is pretty incredible.

“But as I said, it doesn’t matter what it looks like. We need to see if it’s fast on track.”

Max Verstappen committed to Red Bull till 2028

The current world champion signed a new deal with Red Bull right before the Bahrain testing. The deal will see him committed with the Milton-Keynes-based team till 2028.

The Dutchman aims to succeed more with Red Bull, especially after having an exceptional campaign in 2021. In return, Verstappen has grabbed a lucrative financial reward that will give him the highest salary in F1 along with Lewis Hamilton.

The other clauses in the deal between the two parties are yet to be known. Last year, it was revealed that Verstappen had a performative clause that could have allowed him to part ways with Red Bull if his team failed to give him a standard quality car.

Also read: Former F1 driver warns Max Verstappen that Lewis Hamilton will destroy him in the 2022 season