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Verstappen concedes Red Bull still lacking after upgrades

Published on 11 May 2019 19:49
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By: Fergal Walsh

Max Verstappen says that Mercedes is still out of reach despite the upgrades Red Bull brought to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

All teams brought some form of upgrades to the weekend, as it marked the first non-flyaway event of the season.

MORE: Horner: Red Bull's Spain upgrades will be 'an evolution rather than revolution'

Mercedes dominated qualifying in Barcelona, with Valtteri Bottas setting a time that was six-tenths faster than anyone else, including teammate Lewis Hamilton.

However, Verstappen managed to split the Ferraris, placing his RB15 ahead of Charles Leclerc for fourth on the grid.

The five-time Grand Prix winner admits that the car feels better through the corners, but says that it is still lacking in pace compared to its rivals.

"Mercedes was too quick the whole weekend, so I think we did a good job to get at least one Ferrari," the Dutchman said. "Even they looked a little bit too quick after FP3 as well.

"We were hoping [for improvements], but Mercedes made a good step forward again. Yesterday I had a bit of traffic and never really got a lap in, but the car just felt a little bit better. It was slow, but it felt a little bit better."

Verstappen has no issues with the balance

Verstappen denied that he ever struggled with the balance of his car in the early part of the season, while Pierre Gasly grappled to get comfortable at the wheel.

"I was never really struggled with the balance of the car," Verstappen said. "I just drove to the limit. If I drove harder, I would just drift off the track so I never really had massive oversteer or understeer, except Bahrain where we had a setup mistake.

"It's the same now, we upgraded it, the car is a bit quicker, but it's still not where we want it to be. There's nothing wrong, we just need more grip."

F1 News Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing

Replies (4)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Big surprise, but all things considered it did look like it was a decent upgrade from Red Bull. Nowhere near what Marko implied, surprise surprise, but a decent leap. All the Honda cars looked pretty decent, so they could be up for decent point this weekend.
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- May 11 2019 - 19:58
boudy

Posts: 1,168
Let's see if the Mercs don't suffer with tyre deg during the race. Those Ferraris are super quick on the straights. Actually if the Haas had the same engine upgrade they would be pushing RBR and might even get close to Ferrari. Honda is certainly an PU that is improving.

It's good for Renault that Ricciardo reached Q3.
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- May 11 2019 - 22:32
f1ski

Posts: 726
It seems to me the front wing that ferrari uses isn't as effective as the MB type wing. the teams that are struggling are using the same wing. Lets see if haas improve race pace. They are using the MB type wing
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- May 12 2019 - 01:06
cricho

Posts: 80
It wouldn't be a surprise to see RBR Honda on the podium in Barcelona this weekend. This is the kind of track they take full advantage of. Hope we get to see Mad Max with a fast car. Party Mode for RBR!
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- May 12 2019 - 11:21