Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Brett Farmer / LAT Images via Getty Images
“We’re getting there, we’re not the same yet.”
That was Max Verstappen’s response to McLaren boss Andrea Stella’s observation that “four teams are locked in a tight competition” after an encouraging Miami Grand Prix for Red Bull, where Mercedes took victory and Ferrari also remained in contention.
Isack Hadjar endured a disastrous weekend, far off Verstappen’s pace before being disqualified from qualifying due to illegal floorboards and crashing out on lap five of the grand prix.
However, Verstappen qualified and finished fifth in the sprint, then secured a front-row start for the main race. He ended up fifth again after a first-lap spin.
“There is a definitive step forward,” team principal Laurent Mekies said. “We left Japan 1.2 seconds off pole, China 1.0 second off. The competition hasn’t waited for our updates, so everyone has improved their cars. But we knew that beyond the development race, we had to fix some of our issues. And we knew there was lap time to be found.”
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
“Seeing us qualify six-tenths off pole on Friday and less than two-tenths off on Saturday is a big sign of progress. What the exact number is, we don’t know. But compared to where we were, it’s far better than anything we’ve shown this year.
“Race pace was strong, confirming the positive signs from qualifying. Not strong enough for P1 or P2, but enough to fight between P3, P4, and P5. So we’ve shown things we hadn’t displayed so far this season. Credit to everyone back in Milton Keynes for this important step forward.”
Mekies’ analysis is accurate. Miami marked the first time a Red Bull got closer than 0.785 seconds to pole (Isack Hadjar in Melbourne). It was also the second time the team finished as “best of the rest” behind Mercedes.
Gap to pole position:
– Australia: 0.785s
– China: 0.938s
– Japan: 1.200s
– Miami: 0.166s
Gap to best non-Mercedes:
– Australia: 0.000s
– China: 0.587s
– Japan: 0.846s
– Miami: 0.000s
Hadjar’s performance at Albert Park was partly due to a decent setup, while the car struggled outside its ideal operating window in China and Japan, where it was outqualified by the other three top teams as well as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
In Miami, Red Bull benefited from a comprehensive upgrade package featuring an updated floor, engine cover, sidepod inlet, and front and rear wings, among other parts. Technical director Pierre Wache confirmed to Motorsport that the upgrades delivered as expected.
As for race pace, Verstappen’s 44-second deficit at the finish was not representative of his potential. He ended lap one in ninth after his spin, and an early safety car pitstop dropped him to 16th, setting up a 51-lap stint on hard tires where he executed 10 overtakes.
Nevertheless, there is no overconfidence at Red Bull, with further upgrades coming, including weight-reducing items that may debut near the Austrian Grand Prix in late June.
“Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t cracked everything we wanted,” Mekies said. “We still have more to extract from our package. And we know the development race continues, with rivals bringing updates in the next race.”
