Max Verstappen admits that Red Bull’s dominance of Formula 1 has ‘completely gone’ after he missed out on pole position for the third Grand Prix running.
Like in Canada a fortnight ago, Verstappen will start in P2 ahead of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, as rival Lando Norris pipped him by just 0.020 seconds during qualifying. Norris’ rapid lap means that in the last four Grands Prix, pole position has been shared by four different teams – Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and now McLaren.
While Verstappen remains a huge 56 points clear top of the driver standings, a title race has emerged for the Constructors’ Championship. The Dutchman’s partnership with Sergio Perez has helped Red Bull claim the last two titles, but with Perez in poor form and Verstappen no longer winning races at a canter like in 2023 and the early part of this year, their crown is under threat.
Speaking after Norris pipped him to pole, Verstappen admitted that despite bringing upgrades to Barcelona, Red Bull no longer have the outright fastest car on the grid. “I think it’s been okay, but not good enough, clearly,” the three-time world champion confessed.
“These kinds of tracks, I was hoping, of course, to be ahead. But the other teams are catching up. We’ve seen this already in the last few races, so it’s definitely a lot harder. We need to do everything perfect to be first. We just need to bring more performance to the car.”
Verstappen then added: “We need to push on. We need to bring parts faster, better. I mean, we’ve had a very dominant car last year. That is very, like… I mean, it’s completely gone, naturally. And, yeah, we just need to really try and make a step ahead again.”
On a more positive note, the 26-year-old hinted that Red Bull are set to welcome a major upgrade in the near future, with Spain being the first of three back-to-back weekends of racing around Europe. “I know what’s coming,” Verstappen hinted. “Sometimes updates turn out better than other times, so I’ll just leave that open.”
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Lando Norris will start in pole position ahead of Max Verstappen (
Image:
Andrea Diodato/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even claims that a win for Verstappen at the Catalunya circuit would go down an upset thanks to Norris having the initial advantage. “After the third practice session, we weren’t at all sure whether we would even make it into the first two rows of the grid,” Marko explained to Sky Germany.
“But ultimately it was Turn 4 where we lost out to Lando. We were faster in Sector 1 and Sector 3, so [things] went in the right direction overall. If we take the long runs from Friday, McLaren is the clear favourite. But with the changes we have made, we can also assume that tyre wear will improve.
“If it stays like this, it will probably be a two-stop race. Then, of course, the pit and the right timing will be crucial. Let’s hope that the safety car comes at the right moment for us – or not at all.”
