Max Verstappen is not ruling out Mercedes bouncing back on the top of the grid despite their ongoing struggles in the 2022 season.
Mercedes didn’t have a perfect start to the 2022 season. The Brackley-based team is struggling with porpoising, taking away their pace on the straights.
Thus, Red Bull and Ferrari managed to get a better hold on their machinery this season than Mercedes. Even in the last race, the W13 was behind their two rivals.
However, Max Verstappen thinks that it would be before the time when Mercedes starts to dominate once again. Though, in Saudi Arabia, it’s difficult for Mercedes to have the upper hand.
“I still think they have some problems, but once they get it together with the car they have now, they can suddenly be very strong again.” Verstappen said to Viaplay.
Due to Mercedes’ lack of pace this year, Hamilton couldn’t fight against Verstappen. The rivalry needs to be extended after a controversial 2021 season.
Also read: Red Bull boss claims Houthi rebels know F1 drivers are in Jeddah
Max Verstappen needs a win desperately
Verstappen was eyeing a win in the last race while vying against Charles Leclerc. But a technical failure in his car led to his retirement from the race before completing the last few laps.
Even if the Dutchman hadn’t got a win in Bahrain, he was guaranteed P2 from the season’s first race. A good start in the points table, it would have meant, but he ended up having a blank.
If he needs to catch up to Ferrari men, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who are standing at 26 points and 18 points respectively, the current world champion needs to win the race in Jeddah.
A smooth first day here in Jeddah 🇸🇦
Still a lot of room to improve though so we keep pushing 👊 pic.twitter.com/PW34CdF65m
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 25, 2022
Carlos Sainz wants to talk about Red Bull
Meanwhile, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has a complaint. According to him, Ferrari is heavily talked about for being too fast. However, nobody is talking about Red Bull also having a powerful engine.
So, he thinks that the reports make Ferrari look superior. But in reality, he claims that the Milton-Keynes-based outfit is slightly faster than the Prancing horses.
