Verstappen Denies Claims Of Red Bull Car Being Tailor-Made To Suit Him Over Perez

Friday, 05 January 2024 at 02:00

The triple World Champion Max Verstappen denied rumors of the Red Bull Racing team building their car to suit his style.

Max Verstappen has not been beaten by his teammates for the last six seasons in F1. Moreover, the Dutchman has been beating everybody that sat in the same car so much, that people started saying Red Bull builds their car around him, which gives him an advantage.

In 2023, the triple World Champion beat his teammate Sergio Perez by a record-breaking margin of 290 points. Not only that, but he beat the Mexican driver in every single stat measurable.

The 26-year-old has now been with Red Bull Racing for eight years. Could it really be that the team built their cars around the Dutchman? He answered this question in a recent interview with Auto Motor Sport:

"I set up the car the way I like it. And the other driver as it suits him. The engineers are developing the car to make it faster. And not how I would like it."

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This works in a similar way in all F1 teams. Both drivers get the same exact car (hence the phrase "equal machinery"), and they can then adjust certain aspects of the car from race to race based on circuit characteristics, conditions, and driving style.

However, the underlying car is the same, and Verstappen clarified it is developed to go faster, not to suit him. The Dutchman explained he simply makes the most of what he gets from the team as he added:

"It's the same with driving style. What is your driving style? I don't know it. I adapt to the needs of the car so that it is the fastest. That's the key to being a really good Formula 1 driver. Adapting to what you get from the team"