Max Verstappen feels he and Red Bull have “overachieved” by splitting the two Mercedes in the first six races of 2020.
The Dutchman has been able to capitalise on almost every moment of weakness so far for the German manufacturer, finishing ahead of Valtteri Bottas at each of the last four Grands Prix, including his victory at Silverstone.
However, the dominance of Lewis Hamilton either side of that win means Verstappen is 37 points behind the Briton in the Drivers’ standings, a gap he feels is more representative of the on-track situation.
“I think looking at pure pace, they of course, both of them, they should be ahead of me in the championship,” Max said via Crash.net on Thursday.
“Of course, Valtteri had one retirement, I had one retirement – retirement, not retirement, he finished out of the points with a puncture, so no points. But of course, that was unlucky for him and for me in the first race.
“I think overall to be second in the few races where I think Mercedes had more pace, we definitely over-achieved a bit and besides that, we always maximised what we could. I am of course very happy with that.”
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Earlier this week, Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested the second half of 2020 could better suit the Milton Keynes-based squad as the RB16 is improved and more circuits put an emphasis on downforce.
However, Verstappen also downplayed that notion.
“I think as a team and myself, we are not here to be second or third, we want to fight for the championship but you also have to accept the situation that we are in,” he 22-year-old added. “We are not really able to challenge.
“Yes it looks like it on paper but if you look at the pure pace we are too slow. At the moment, of course, we’re relying on a bit of an off day for Mercedes or a bit of luck to win a race. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Even so, Hamilton maintains Verstappen is still a threat to him claiming his seventh F1 title.
“If you take the first race away, with Max having the DNF, I think if you look at the results, we’d be very, very close in the points,” he said.
“And obviously, they [Red Bull] have had very strong results and are getting closer in races. Maybe in qualifying, we do have the edge, but as I say, when it comes to the race, we’re generally a lot closer.
“We’re not even halfway through the season and so I absolutely keep my eye on them. I think they still are a title runner and so we need to stay on our toes.”
As for the third member of the leading trio, Valtteri Bottas, there was signs of frustration creeping in after another poor race in Barcelona left him feeling his championship hopes were “drifting away”.
But, looking ahead to a special weekend in Belgium, the Finn feels ready to get his year back on track.
“Yes, it was a disappointing weekend and there are now a few races that just didn’t go my way and I was far from what the goal was,” Bottas said.
“But the most important thing is to bounce back and reset and find the right mindset. I definitely had a bit of a disconnect, as we had a weekend off, so I’m fully recharged and I’m ready to be here again and try to be at my best level.
“I’m in good spirits and looking forward to spending my birthday tomorrow on track, in one of the best tracks in the world and with, probably, the best racing car in the world. Things are good!”
