Max Verstappen has been a part of the Red Bull family throughout his F1 career. He made his debut with Toro Rosso – their sister team – in 2015, and the following year got promoted to the main stable. Since then, he has driven numerous Red Bull cars.
Verstappen has experienced a lot with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit, and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he reflected on the same by naming his favorite Red Bull cars.
During an interview with Karun Chandhok, Verstappen revealed that he had three.
“The first one is the RB12 because I thought it was a fantastic car to drive, first win with it as well. It was a bit slow on the straights, but nothing to do with the car. Then the RB16B, the first championship is always I think pretty emotional but also it was a great car to drive. And then I have to pick the RB19. I think it will probably be my most successful car as well ever. So it’s always an emotional one for sure.”
Max Verstappen says that he has three favorite cars:
RB12 [first win]
RB16B – first championship
RB19 – his most dominant car https://t.co/Z9tfBxMM49— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) July 14, 2024
All three cars have special memories attached to Verstappen. The RB12 and the RB16B helped the Dutchman achieve his first win and Championship respectively. But the RB19 was something different.
Driving it in the 2023 season, Verstappen won 19 races out of 22 that season, with his teammate Sergio Perez winning two more. It was the most dominant F1 car of all time. And Verstappen doesn’t think it will be replicated.
Perez failed to use the RB19 the way Verstappen did last season
In 2023, Perez went off to a great start, giving hope that he could go toe to toe with Verstappen. Unfortunately for him, all came crashing down after five rounds. Even though the RB19 was much stronger than any other car on the grid, Perez wasn’t able to use it to his advantage.
The Guadalajara-born driver did not trust the car enough, which caused a downward spiral. He also claimed that his deficit to Verstappen was particularly bigger in changing conditions, which made him lose confidence in the car as the season progressed.
Former world champion Jenson Button expects Sergio Perez to be fired from Red Bull if he does not score points in the next race.
️I think that if Sergio Perez does not score any points in the next race, there is a great chance that he will be sacked.#F1Movie #F1イギリスGP… pic.twitter.com/RhnLOtg1iv
— Ferrari update (@F1picturesDm) July 10, 2024
2024 has been a similar story so far. In fact, Perez has been worse. He is five places behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Standings and the gap between them stands at 137 points.
