Max Verstappen helped Red Bull to beat Mercedes to get back their hegemony in the grid. From 2010 to 2013, it was the Austrian team and Sebastian Vettel who were dominating the sport. In 2014, a new era began with Mercedes as the new dominant power in Formula One. Sir Lewis Hamilton won six titles from 2014 to 2020. He could not win his eighth title in 2021. Albeit, Mercedes won their eighth consecutive title that year. It was the Dutch driver who became a huge obstacle for the German team and Hamilton in 2021. Finally, in 2022, Red Bull was able to overthrow Mercedes to become the new constructor champions.
Verstappen won 15 races in 2022, helping the Austrian team win the title in a dominating fashion. Sergio Perez won two more races for Red Bull that year. Similarly, Checo again won a couple of races in 2023. But Max went on to win an unbelievable number of 19 Grands Prix. In the end, the Milton Keynes team won a total of 21 races out of 22 in 2023. Clearly, a lot of credit goes to the superior Red Bull car. Moreover, the teams have launched their 2024 F1 challenger. Recently, Max Verstappen denied the claims of the RB20 car resembling a little bit of Mercedes cars.
Max Verstappen Denies That RB20 Resembles The 2023 Mercedes Car
On Thursday, Red Bull took the cover off their F1 2024 challenger. Moreover, there was a notable similarity between the Mercedes W14 cars and the new RB20 car. The RB20 sidepods feature the vertical inlets that Mercedes used last year. Moreover, the engine cover, including the long cooling gulleys, runs from the Halo along the cover’s length. That’s why it looks a lot like the W14 car of the Silver Arrows. Later, Max Verstappen told the media, including Thomas Maher of PlanetF1.com, that he would still call it a Red Bull-style car when they pointed out the Mercedes-style parts.
But Max also seemed to understand why they were talking about the similarities. Moreover, Sergio Perez mentioned the new RB20 car sure draws inspiration from Mercedes. But Checo feels that’s a positive sign from the team’s designers. Moreover, he said that it was surprising at first. But the Mexican driver liked the fact that the team is open to moving forward and pushing the boundaries. He said, “It’s really great to see.”
The Dutch Driver Likes Red Bulls “Controlled Aggressiveness”
In the case of pushing boundaries, Max Verstappen is all for it as he gears up to win his fourth title. He said he’s happy with the direction the team chose to go in. The Dutch driver recalls seeing the drawings during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2023 and felt, “Wow, that’s really different in a way.” He appreciates the fact that Red Bull has not been conservative. The team had a great package, but they were not afraid to go all out and make it even better.
But Max said that only time can tell if that’s the right move. However, he said everybody in the team is happy and there’s no sign that they got it wrong. The Dutchman believes it’s a “Controlled aggressiveness.” Everybody in the team is happy because there’s no question mark about what they’ve done as if they’re not sure.
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