Max Verstappen insists he and Pierre Gasly are given “equal opportunities” at Red Bull.
When the Frenchman was chosen to replace Daniel Ricciardo, the consensus was that the Dutchman would become the clear lead driver and performance-wise so far, that has been the case.
However, should Gasly close the gap and start matching Verstappen, he is not expecting any kind of preferential treatment.
“I don’t see myself as a first driver and nobody in the team mentioned that,” Verstappen stated.
“We both get equal opportunities and I am just doing what I was doing also last year, giving the right feedback back to the team and then it is up to the team to bring new parts.”
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During the first four races of 2019, the Verstappen which ended last year has been on full display with consistent performances seeing him claim a third and three fourth-place finishes.
Certainly, it is a far cry from the same time a year ago when the 21-year-old was coming off collisions with Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo in consecutive races.
“So from my side, not a lot has changed, of course you gain experience,” he explained.
“I would be wrong to change something because it would mean that you were not doing the right things the year before.
“You always improve as a driver, even Lewis is still improving, so it depends on how hungry you are to keep improving,” Verstappen suggested.
“Of course, from the first year to your second year, you learn a lot about how to drive a Formula 1 car.
“When you go into your fifth season, I think it is definitely more about general experiences with the car. Doing more races makes you improve.”
