Max Verstappen started the 2024 season with a big smile, outperforming the entire grid during testing. Other teams had limitations to their car and focused on improvement as the season progressed. Verstappen, however, picked up right where he left off, winning the opening two races of 2024 with a comfortable margin. Now, his statements about Red Bull’s challenger, the RB20, should have rivals worried.
In an interview with L’Equipe, Verstappen stated that the RB20 does not show a lot of difference from its predecessor, the RB19. The 3-time world champion felt immediately at ease with Red Bull’s new car.
He said, “I drive the RB20 more naturally than the RB19. And it is a wonderful feeling. I immediately understood that it was a fast car. Because it was balanced and it was easy to immediately set a fairly quick timed lap.”
This is an ominous statement, because the RB19 is widely considered to be one of the most dominant cars of all time. Red Bull won 21 races out of 22 with the RB19, with Verstappen claiming 19 of those wins. If Verstappen feels more at ease with this year’s car, nothing stops him from getting all 24 wins in 2024.
The Red Bull driver added that there are still areas where the RB20 has to get better. Verstappen, however, remained silent when asked about the exact point of weakness. Instead, he said that the team must examine the vehicle on a few more tracks to determine the shortcomings.
Analysis of Max Verstappen’s precise and confident driving style
With his victories in the Sakhir and Jeddah, Max Verstappen has now won all but three of the races since the start of the 2023 campaign. Even though Ferrari and Charles Leclerc reduced Red Bull’s lead in qualifying towards the end of the previous season, the gap seems to be growing again. Speaking about it, Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson has now made it clear that the difference is because of Verstappen’s precise driving style.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Lawson stated that Max Verstappen’s current situation has put him in a fantastic position. He even provides an example, pointing out Verstappen’s qualifying run in Jeddah.
He said, “He doesn’t miss an apex and he gets so close. Like so close to the wall in places. At turn four, I am pretty sure he touched on the inside, which is extremely difficult to do, to be that precise.”
Verstappen has already dominated the opening two rounds in 2023. For the next round in Australia, which takes place in two weeks time, Verstappen is once again the favorite. Whether other teams can catch up to the Dutchman or not, remains to be seen.
