The accolades were poured on Max Verstappen when he consistently dominated the racing track. He was picked as one of the living legends of teh sport, rampaging through every F1 record. However, everything has flipped upside down as the Dutchman struggles to win a single race. The Azerbaijan GP was his seventh outing without sealing the top spot.
This dramatic RBR decline has created an opportunity for McLaren, who grabbed it with both hands. As a result, the British have ousted Red Bull from the top position, while Lando Norris is now surging to challenge Verstappen. Altogether, the way forward looks dreary for the Milton Keynes-based outfit. However, the reigning world champion is confident of fighting the Woking squad, as he reflected on the blunders of Azerbaijan.
“It Might Surprise Us,” Verstappen Unsure About Singapore GP As McLaren Takes The Lead
A new chapter of World Title was etched during the Baku showdown. McLaren dethroned Red Bull as Oscar Piastri won the Azerbaijan GP. The Woking squad is on a roll, as it has scored double(138) the points of Red Bull (67) in the last four GPs. Thus, Max Verstappen’s P5 finish was insufficient to safeguard the top spot. The Milton Keynes-based outfit arrived at the Caspian Sea with an eight-point lead but is departing with a 20-point deficit to McLaren. To sum up, the Azerbaijan GP was a disaster and a sub-par display of racing by the defending champs. To make matters worse, Sergio Perez crashed with Carlos Sainz, leading to a significant financial loss.
However, the financial loss was dwarfed by RBR’s points deficit. Now, with seven rounds to go, the Austrian outfit doesn’t have much space to fight back. Moreover, the upcoming Singapore track has not yielded the best results for Verstappen & CO. Despite Marina Bay being Verstappen’s weak spot, he is focused on improving.
During the post-race media session, the Dutchman emphasized the key areas he needs to address before next weekend. He further claimed the team is trying to extract data from Baku to analyze the errors. However, he remains skeptical about the Marina Bay city circuit, as it won’t be a favorable track for the low-riding RB20. Ultimately, the RBR triple champion affirmed the fight is not over yet, as he will try his best to snatch back the top spot from McLaren.
Verstappen Reflects On A Flawed Setup Change Which Turned RB20 Into A “Go Kart”
The RB20 was quick and well-balanced during the FP sessions. However, the team decided to make a light change during the qualifying. According to Verstappen, he paid the price for that change as it messed up the car’s balance.
Moreover, he affirmed that the car bounced around as the wheels came off the ground. It felt like he was driving on “three wheels,” turning his RB20 into a “Go-Kart.” Ultimately, the gripping was impossible; thus, Verstappen called it a “very difficult” race.
