Max Verstappen, a back-to-back Formula One champion, might have developed some experience with how things work here. The past two seasons of Formula One have been quite more exciting, not because these two years changed the plot for Mercedes. But also because FIA kept on bringing a set of rules. In 2021 the cost cap budget was introduced, and in 2022, a set of new technical regulations were implemented with which the turbo hybrid era ended. The main reason for the plot twist, for Red Bull’s domination instead of Mercedes, was nothing but the ground floor rules launched in the season.
Red Bull became the one team to adopt and adjust those rules perfectly. As a result, it won 17 Grand Prix and both championships. However, Mercedes failed and ended the season drastically with only one win. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, the driver who broke Michael Schumacher’s record for winning most races in a season, believes that the Formula One teams who could not adjust to the new 2022 rules will never be able to catch up in the future.
Speaking about the new regulations with Viaplay, Max Verstappen suggested that the teams which did right in adopting them will have in baked advantage in the future. “One can see this when the regulations changed [in 2022] and some of the teams just hit it spot on,” said the two-time world champion. He believes that adopting the new rules and adjusting to them correctly gives the idea about what you are doing. You get to work more or less from there, and then you make the small steps forward, which helps to make one of the best on the grid.
Max Verstappen Says “Red Bull Will Become Even More Stronger”
However, Max Verstappen suggests that when a team gets things wrong while adapting to the new rules, everything gets ruined. They need to reinvent and try again and again with different experiments. This leads the team to remain behind others who have already adjusted. Like Mercedes, they could not adapt to the new rules for the entire season. The silver arrows kept on experimenting and learning through analyzing, but they could not come forward. Mercedes remained behind Red bull and Ferrari.
Not only for Mercedes, but Max Verstappen also had things to speak about Red Bull. He knows how the team struggled during Mercedes’s dominance for approx a decade. Since when the turbo hybrid era existed, there was no one but the Silver Arrows going first for the championship run. How the rules affect teams has live examples, like look at Red Bull, “You saw that with us in that it took a few years to challenge Mercedes,” said Max Verstappen.
The regulations may seem a little complex, but if you are still on the back foot, you need to catch up. According to Max Verstappen, while Mercedes [or any team which failed to adapt to the 2022 technical regulations] will try to catch up with the changes, Red Bull and Ferrari, which already did great with the change, will improve and become stronger. So the gap will always be there!
