Red Bull star Max Verstappen is just not familiar with losing any race this season. It is because he has won 12 races after the first 14 Grands Prix this year. The 15th race of the year saw the Red Bull’s winning streak come to an end. Moreover, prior to the Singaporean Grand Prix, Max was on a 10-race winning streak. Hence, even Max’s streak came to an end in the Marina Bay race track.
Prior to the race last weekend, the worst performance of the Dutchman was a couple of P2 finishes. On those couple of occasions, his teammate Sergio Perez ended up on the top of the podium. However, since the Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was unbeatable. Recently, Max Verstappen topped the practice session in Suzuka. He mentioned that he enjoyed driving the RB19 car again after a tough weekend in Singapore.
Max Verstappen Claims It’s Enjoyable Again To Drive The Red Bull Car
The Dutchman led both free practice sessions on Friday ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. He was 0.32 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and almost 0.5 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. In the post-race interview on Friday, Max Verstappen mentioned from lap one, the car felt pretty good. Adding to that, Verstappen noted that his team had a strong day in both short and long runs. However, Max Verstappen claimed that there are a lot of degradations on the Suzuka track. Hence, it can affect the tires negatively. But the Dutchman sounds happy about having a good start to the current weekend.
Moreover, as threats, Red Bull is considering Ferrari and McLaren to be quite close. Hence, Max Verstappen says his team will have a close look at the new threats as well. However, the championship leader is focusing on his own performance and looks to optimize it. Max Verstappen believes if they can optimize their performance, they can get on pole again. On the other hand, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez mentioned they have a clear understanding of what direction as a team they need to take.
The Singapore GP Failure Is Nothing To Worry About For Red Bull
But the failure in Singapore does not exactly mean it is the end of the road for the current double-time champion. He might win the next race in Suzuka and confirm Red Bull’s title victory this year. And he might move closer to ensuring his title victory as well. Red Bull team is pretty confident moving to Japan from Singapore. They knew the high downforce street circuit in Marina Bay would cause trouble for them. But letting Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren finish ahead of them was perhaps a little too big a stretch.
The Austrian team would like to even things out in the Japanese Grand Prix. Moreover, Verstappen mentioned the car’s simulator felt good in Suzuka. He indicates that he is ready to get back to winning ways again. Moreover, if Red Bull confirms their title victory in Japan, it would be very fitting because of their connection with Honda. Even Max Verstappen mentioned that victory in Japan would be special for Honda, their engine partner.
