Max Verstappen claims Red Bull could have achieved Mercedes’ run of seven double championships had the hybrid engines not been introduced in 2014.
Of course, the Anglo-Austrian outfit was on a streak of four straight Drivers and Constructors’ titles between 2010 and 2013 before the new power units ushered in an era of domination for Mercedes that continues to this day.
But with Red Bull in a class of their own in the second half of 2013, with Sebastian Vettel winning the last nine races, Verstappen feels, had the V8’s stayed, so would have his team’s success.
“To be honest with you, I think at the end of 2013 if the regulations wouldn’t have changed, I think Red Bull could have done the same if the V6 wasn’t introduced,” the Dutchman told Motorsport.com.
“I think in a way, it came perfect for them [Mercedes]. Of course, you know, the V6 era, they prepared very early on, and they were well equipped with a good power unit from the start and that, of course, initially I think, really helped them a lot.”
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That being said, Verstappen, who has finished third behind Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in each of the past two years, acknowledges their all-round strength.
“I think they made their car very fast and with a good top speed, everything, of course, looks already a lot better,” he said.
“But for sure [in 2020], they also had an amazing car. You can’t get around that.”
In fact, last year was arguably Mercedes’ most dominant in terms of their pace advantage over the rest, and Verstappen admits another season where the championship was out of the equation was tough to take at first.
“Initially I was like that. You would get a bit frustrated about it because you have that belief and [think] ‘it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen’ and every year it’s just not,” he told David Coulthard in an interview for sponsor CarNext.com.
“This year I said to myself ‘you know what, I can be frustrated all the time about not winning, but maybe I should just see it in a way that it’s not possible but I should just try to do the best I can and get the best out of myself and really find that enjoyable’, and that’s what I’m trying to do now.
“To get frustrated all the time, I don’t think you can last a full season like that.”
Another false dawn also annoyed Max’s father and ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen but…
“The good thing is, we always discussed things together with Max and Raymond [Vermeulen, Max’s manager], you know, and Raymond discusses it with Helmut [Marko, Red Bull advisor] and we sit together…and that’s the good thing, we can really talk about it,” he explained.
“And also we made the decision for a long-term agreement with [Red Bull] and to give them the chance that we win the World Championship, so we’ll have a go next year again. But I would love to challenge them [Mercedes] and to fight for the Championship.”