Max Verstappen says the way Red Bull has been going about its work trying to close the gap to McLaren has given the team better understanding of its car and performance.
Red Bull struggled in the middle part of the season, with Verstappen picking up just a solitary podium – second place in Canada – in the seven races prior to the summer break. Since the return in Zandvoort, however, the Dutchman has two wins and two second places from four rounds, and he believes team principal Laurent Mekies has been one part of a wider recovery.
“I think Laurent is probably being too nice in that sense,” Verstappen said of the Frenchman describing his own impact as zero. “But at the end of the day, what is very good is that we just approach it as a proper team effort.
“We always tried to look into the details. We tried to understand what our weaknesses were. And since a few races ago, it’s definitely picked up a lot.
“Maybe [Singapore] it was not as good as the last race weekend, but sometimes you come out of a race just a bit lost, not really understanding why or how. I do think that now we understand why or how we can be better. And by asking the right questions – including Laurent being involved in that – it’s just working well.”
While Verstappen is more confident in Red Bull’s understanding of his car, he warns that doesn’t mean it will always be strong at every circuit due to the pre-existing strengths and weaknesses of the RB21.
“We were more competitive [in Singapore], but I think it’s still not our favorite layout, let’s say that. But then maybe some other tracks will come to us a bit more, so we just have to take it race by race.”
Mekies praises Verstappen alongside other team members for the recent progress, in particular for the way the team did not write off the season and has started to close in again in the drivers’ championship.
“I think everybody has been working extremely hard in Milton Keynes, from race one to now, and never giving up on trying to unlock the potential of that car,” Mekies said. “It is fair to say that the progress in the last few weeks have been quite spectacular. And it’s credit to everyone, again, back at home, that have never given up.
“It’s credit to Max who has been, with his sensitivity, pushing us to explore different avenues. And finally, we found an avenue that unlocked a bit of performance. There is no single silver bullet. So, there have been a good flow of updates. There have been different ways to run the car.
“All together, it seems that we have a competitive package on most tracks. But it’s very difficult to wind back and to say, ‘With the upgrades of the beginning of the year, where would you be?’ We are not looking backward, we are looking forward.”
