Red Bull team principal Laurent Mequise says watching Max Verstappen run for a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship is a chance to see history in the making.
Verstappen has cut Oscar Piastri’s championship lead from 104 points to 40 points over the past four races as Red Bull took a step forward in car performance. Mekies says Verstappen’s influence on these gains should not be underestimated as he continues to contribute to the team’s progress.
“I think watching Max drive is watching history being made,” Mekies said. “He surprises us every time he’s out on the course: how much he pushes us from one session to another, how sensitive he is to what we can and can’t see.”
Mekies said that in addition to McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari are also taking part, and the final stages of the season are likely to be particularly competitive as no team has consistently shown a good pace compared to their rivals.
“In terms of relative performance, I think it’s fair to say that[McLaren]no longer have the advantage they had in the first half of the season compared to us. Even back at Spa, where we won the sprint, we were still quite a half a second per lap slower than them. Even at Zandvoort after the shutdown, we were probably still half a second slower than them per lap.”
“So I think that’s gone now, and you go to a weekend race and you have three or four teams that can fight for the win if they give the best they can at that track and what their cars can do.
“I don’t think anyone has an advantage. I think the rest of the races will all come down to which of these four teams does the best with track layout, conditions, temperatures and tires. Then that team will win the race.”
Verstappen feels he has nothing to lose in chasing Piastri and Lando Norris and admitted he is relishing the chance to overturn the gap with McLaren.
“I’m having a very good weekend,” Verstappen said. “Of course we know that we have to be perfect until the end of the season to have a chance, but we will try. If we succeed, of course it will be great. If we don’t succeed, we tried everything we could until the end and kept things exciting. I think that’s our spirit.”
“It’s a positive pressure. We don’t feel like it’s putting anything on us. We’re not stressed about it, we’re just working hard.”
