After being beaten on merit in Miami for the first time since last year’s Singapore Grand Prix, it is a big question mark whether Max Verstappen and Red Bull can really be challenged, or that business proceeds as usual.
The Formula 1 circus has landed in Imola, a circuit that – on paper – looks a bit more straightforward than the track in Miami, with it’s three distinct sections and unfamiliar parking lot tarmac. The current championship leader wasn’t sure what to read into the results of a fortnight ago, whether there is indeed a new pecking order.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Verstappen contemplated. “I mean, McLaren of course came with a really big upgrade, so I guess we will only find out here how good that upgrade is going to be, because it always takes a bit of time to fully get on top of things, but yeah, we knew that.
“I mean, it’s about little details that can make quite a big difference in terms of lap times sometimes, and I think especially on a track like Miami, everything is very sensitive, it’s very hard to know, so a bit too much sliding here and there can make you lose quite a bit of lap time.”
Verstappen had a difficult race in Miami, not helped by the fact that he took the bollard that was to mark the chicane for a little tour of the circuit. A mistake that eventually resulted in some floor damage and a virtual safety car. But even despite that, the RB 20 was not as dominant as earlier in the season, with Christian Horner hinting that Verstappen’s strategy was compromised by Charles Leclerc’s early stop.
“From our side it was probably just not that easy,” the Dutchman explained. “Then of course with the damage that I picked up, you know, the bollard came onto the tracks, and then the VSC, and then the safety car because of the crash. So, I don’t think it’s only because of another car being already on a certain strategy that you make a certain call.”
And despite leading the championship quite comfortably, the threat from the likes of McLaren and Ferrari is closer than in 2023.
“I think already that the first five races were not as straightforward as always people try to make it out, because it’s always about attention to detail where you make differences and, you know, some weekends were a bit better than others.
“But, yeah, I do think already from the start of the year, the other teams are closer compared to last year, but I do think that as a team we had quite a good start to the year where we did quite a lot of things right. Of course, we had a DNF which costs us a lot of points, but I do expect this season to be closer in general than last year.”
Verstappen dismissed the notion that last year they could get away with more errors, rejecting the hint at complacency.
“Was it because we were doing everything right or people were doing things wrong, you know, or the other way around. It’s always very difficult to tell, but of course you always have to try and be on top of your game, but naturally that is not always the case.
“You can’t have every single weekend where everything goes perfect, that’s simply impossible, but you always try to be as close as you can be to that perfection, but sometimes it works out a bit better.
“In Miami it didn’t really work out that well, and naturally when other people are improving and making their cars look a bit more like ours, then yeah, they get a bit closer.”
The three-time champion also dismissed the idea that he himself hasn’t been challenged over the past year.
“Well, on the outside it seems like there is no challenge,” he replied. “I’m challenging every single weekend to try and get the most out of it, you know.
“For me it’s never boring, because I don’t need another team or another driver to give me that challenge, I’m in a constant challenge with myself to try and get the best out of things, so it’s not like I’m missing something or that I’m waiting for something to come to suddenly feel more appreciation or more validation in what we are doing.“
However, at the end of the weekend he was glad for his mate Lando Norris, who finally managed to get that elusive first win. And he did have a nice celebration on Sunday night.
“Yeah, it was good, I mean, yeah, we had good fun. It’s nice to see Lando win that race, because I think it was a long time coming, and in a way it also reminded me a bit more of my first win again, you know, the excitement and stuff, so it was a good night.”
