Max Verstappen admits he is trying to “make the best” of Red Bull’s current lack of competitiveness.
Before the season, the Dutchman was considered one of the drivers to watch in 2017 following a number of standout performances since joining the Milton Keynes outfit last year, including a wet-weather masterclass in Brazil.
Instead, the 19-year-old has been unable to build on that momentum with Red Bull comfortably the third best of Formula 1’s top three teams, some way off the pace of the leading Ferraris and Mercedes’.
In an interview with Crash.net last week, Verstappen conceded it was disappointing that the former world champions had slipped back due to the new rules.
“Well, I never really had many expectations when I started, because then when the car is bad or good… it’s not like a shock,” he said initially. “Unfortunately, it (the pace) wasn’t what many people hoped but that’s just how it is, you have to make the best of it I guess.”
Though Red Bull continues to point to the TAG Heuer-branded Renault power unit as the main reason for their disappointing performance, there has been a growing acknowledgement that the RB13 chassis itself has fallen well below the standard expected by the team’s aerodynamics department.
“We need more grip on the car,” Verstappen claimed. “As soon as we have more grip then even if the car drives a bit differently I’ll adapt to the situation. I think that’s the key.”
Some progress has been made though and in Monaco team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was able to finish on the podium on pure pace. When asked what would constitute a good second half of the season, Max continued: “If we close the gap, and that we’re fighting for victories at the end of the season.
“At the moment that’s still not the case, we have to focus race-by-race if we can improve on the car.”