“You Never Know”: Max Verstappen Believes Now Red Bull Doesn’t Have Luxury of Clumsy Pitstops as Nearest Threat Comes Closer

Even though Max Verstappen managed to secure his fourth Sprint victory of the season in Brazil, Lando Norris managed to finish within touching distance of the Dutchman. Therefore, as per a recent report by FormulaPassion, the Red Bull driver believes that having poor pitstops at this stage of the season can cost him a race win.

Verstappen said, “It was a close call [for him to reach me]. In the Grand Prix, we will also have pit stops, so you never know what can happen.” 

Strong Saturday! Felt good out there today, we learnt a lot in a very well managed Sprint @redbullracing 🙌 Looking forward to race day 💪#BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/49fMSQwwO1

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 4, 2023

Even though Norris is starting the main race from P7, the McLaren has shown good pace towards the end of the season. Therefore, Norris is more than capable of getting in the fight with Verstappen, provided that he is able to make good ground early on in the race.

As for Verstappen, given that he manages to hold on to his P1 at the start of the race, a battle between him and Norris can be expected towards the latter stages of the race. Therefore, since McLaren is showing a similar race pace to that of Red Bull, the Milton Keynes outfit cannot afford any lapse during the pit stops.

McLaren have managed to overtake Red Bull in the Pitstop battles

Red Bull have been the team to beat in the past few years when it comes to efficient pitstops. They have managed to win the Fastest Pitstop Award five times in a row from 2018 to 2022.

However, McLaren have also turned up the heat this season with some super fast pitstops of their own. They set the record for the fastest pitstop with a 1.80-second stop for Norris at the 2023 Qatar GP.

McLaren now officially hold the fastest pit stop of the season ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/lYGB5aJde5

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 8, 2023

Therefore, as per Verstappen, the fight between McLaren and Red Bull can be quite close both on track as well as in the pit lane. If McLaren can keep up the progress that they have made throughout the 2023 season, they may as well come out as the main rivals for Red Bull in 2024.

However, even though McLaren is super close to the Red Bull, the latter still holds the edge at the moment. Verstappen is likely to register his 17th win of the season in Sao Paulo this weekend since he starts from pole. He can also become the first F1 driver to cross 500 points if he finishes above P5.