Two-time defending World Champion Max Verstappen heads into 2023 looking to make it three consecutive titles in a role.
Red Bull has looked very strong in testing and look set to start the season as favourites.
The 25-year-old Dutchman is not fazed by the fact his team has less wind tunnel time due to the fact they overspent last year and says upgrades are coming.
Verstappen went into detail on the struggles with last year’s car that caused a relatively sluggish start compared to Ferrari.
“The main issue we had last year was the car was massively overweight,” he stated during a press conference in Bahrain today. “In the beginning the car was just very lazy, it was not turning in because the weight was also [in] the wrong place of the car.
“Throughout the year we got rid of that and you could see the performance was increasing a lot – and it became more of a race car.
“This year is just a continuation – but also things that we found and put on the car that were clearly better.
“We already have things in the pipeline coming. It’s a work in progress. We know what our limitations are and we work around it.”
A regular thing thrown at Red Bull Racing and Verstappen is the fact the car is tailored to his needs and his teammate has to deal with it.
However the Dutchman believes it’s a case of adapting to the unique traits of a very strong front end on the Red Bull car – just like he had to do that when he joined the team in 2016.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily just suited to my driving style,” he said. “I think as a driver you need to adapt to what you get.
“That’s what I did when I joined Red Bull because the car was always like that, to be honest. It had a good front end, but I’ve never experienced a fast car which has understeer in my life in any category.
“For me it’s nothing weird what I am getting or it feels like the team is pushing around my driving style. People ask what is my driving style and I cannot tell you because I always adapt to what I get in the best way possible. Sometimes it’s a bit harder than others.
“I think that’s the key. You need to adapt every year. Every track is different. That’s what you try to do best everytime.”
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool
