Red Bull has lost force majeure for a while, Verstappen sighs: ‘Things are not going well’

Red Bull Content PoolMax Verstappen in Canada

NOS Sport•vandaag, 01:17

• Joost Smedema

  editor Formula 1 in Montreal

• Joost Smedema

  editor Formula 1 in Montreal

He would like to have another flawless weekend, but Max Verstappen also sees in Canada that Red Bull Racing is no longer as supreme as the past two years. “Absolutely. Things are just not going well at the moment,” he sighs after qualifying.

Verstappen will start from second place on Sunday, which is not a bad result on a circuit that does not suit his car very well. “But it has been a bit difficult all weekend. We have had too many problems and with Mercedes the speed came easier.”

‘Second place is very good’

Pole position went to George Russell, who recorded exactly the same time as Verstappen in his Mercedes. But because the Briton recorded 1,12,000 ahead of Verstappen, he starts at the front.

“If you look at the lap times, it is exactly the same, but they were three tenths faster in Q2 (the second qualifying session, ed.),” says Verstappen. “I think there was a lot more in it for them. Second place, I think, is very good.”

NOS

The season started in such a dominant way for Verstappen with resounding victories in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China. The 2024 season seemed to continue as 2023 ended. He is also the leader in the World Cup standings, but since last month the Red Bull has lost its dominance.

In Imola and Monaco, at the previous two Grands Prix, Verstappen complained a lot about the car’s set-up during training. Everything didn’t go as planned.

Moreover, the competition became closer. Ferrari and McLaren have been breathing down Verstappen’s neck in recent races, but this weekend Mercedes is also joining the battle. But not only have the others become stronger, Red Bull itself is simply no longer in the position flow that had held the team for so long.

Sometimes you have a moment in the year when things aren’t going well.

Max Verstappen

On Friday, due to a problem in the electrical part of his engine, he was only able to make few kilometers during the second training session in Montreal. “It simply shouldn’t happen,” says Verstappen, who, to his dismay, is starting to see a pattern.

“I think we keep a close eye on everything, but sometimes you have a moment in the year when things are not going well with all kinds of small problems.”

“There are hardly any other people in the team and everyone is doing their best. We talk about it, you always try to improve and analyze it. But at the moment we just can’t stop it.”

Red Bull Content PoolVerstappen and Russell after qualifying

Mercedes takes pole position again for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023. Then it was Lewis Hamilton, the last time Russell was allowed to start from pole was also in Hungary, two years ago.

Yet success did not come out of the blue for Russell. “The car felt good during every lap this weekend, we were always at the top somewhere. We will see whether this will also be the case in the coming races.

“Two weeks ago in Monaco we were only a tenth from the front row, now we take pole and these are the first two races after the update to the car. It looks good.”

Russell enjoys his pole: ‘It’s been a long time since we were in this position’

Verstappen: “I’m glad it’s Mercedes and not Ferrari, they are closer to us in the championship.” Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz disappointed, both drivers will start outside the top ten on Sunday. But Verstappen doesn’t want to look at that too much.

“Ultimately we have to concentrate on ourselves and enforce things ourselves, of course you cannot rely on the competition. At the moment it is very close. You can also see it in Checo (Pérez, ed.) in Q1,” says Verstappen about his teammate who did not survive the first session.

“It’s just very difficult to make our car feel good. It looks like things are going a little easier with other teams. We have to make sure that we can excel again as a team.”

2024-06-08 23:17:40
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