"There's no reason to stress out," says Verstappen as Red Bull and engine suppliers Renault plot how to take on Ferrari and Mercedes
Friday 7 April 2017 04:10, UK
Max Verstappen has opened up on the shortcomings in the Red Bull package which the teenager believes means they are up to a second a lap behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
Despite pre-season expectations F1's new rules refresh, which put more emphasis on aerodynamic performance, would suit Red Bull, the former world champions were peripheral players at the season-opening Australian GP and are expected to fall further behind the leaders at this weekend's engine-centric Chinese GP.
But rather than blame Renault, who have borne the brunt of criticism for Red Bull's fall from dominance since the start of F1's hybrid engine era three years ago, Verstappen has admitted the team have their own car issues to resolve too.
"We have to improve," said Verstappen in China. "We are working hard to get new parts to the car so we can get closer to the top two teams.
"Behind us is a big gap. In Melbourne l could have done two pit-stops and still finished in the same position."
So what's up with the RB13?
Handling difficulties were a consistent feature of Verstappen and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's weekends in Melbourne, with Red Bull yet to find a consistent balance for the drivers to attack the track with confidence.
Ricciardo's uncharacteristic crash in qualifying, when he was pushing in an attempt to make up for the RB13's performance shortfall, appeared to highlight the car's 'knife-edge' handling.
"It's tricky," Verstappen told Sky F1. "We are still finding out everything, it's not an easy fix as you know.
"We shouldn't make it [sound] too dramatic, we just need to find a good balance on the car from high-speed to low-speed so we are working hard to get new parts here for that to make that balance off-set a bit closer to each other.
"Then it should already be a big step forward, then we need more horsepower as well."
Have Red Bull been hurt by F1's suspension ruling?
The FIA's pre-season clampdown on 'trick' suspension systems was thought to be directly aimed at Red Bull and Mercedes, but both teams have downplayed the significance of the decision.
"We haven't changed the suspension, it was exactly the same as in winter testing," said Verstappen in China.
However, the Dutchman did confirm the now-banned systems had been a development path the team had been considering and many in the paddock have suggested the RB13's handling imbalance may be linked to the crackdown.
What about their Renault engine?
Repeat reliability problems afflicted all three Renault-powered teams in winter testing, and although the French manufacturer introduced some fixes for Australia, issues with the MGU-K meant they are still having to run last year's heavier unit in the opening rounds.
Team advisor Helmut Marko told Austria's Salzburger Nachrichten this week: "A big [power unit] update from Renault is only planned for Canada but we will have a version that is slightly lighter and can be driven in a higher mode for a longer time.
"This makes us optimistic that we might be able to take the lead by Austria."
Verstappen said: "We are also struggling on the straights so we cannot say the chassis is really, really bad or anything, it's just a bit out of balance at the moment but we are working really hard and we will have some new parts here which will help us, then we will be closer."
When will Red Bull challenge Ferrari and Mercedes?
Even if long straights of Shanghai prove prohibitive to an immediate response to their two chief rivals' early 2017 advantage, there appears no outward signs of panic that Red Bull are poised to again be left behind at the start of a new rules era.
"In general, Melbourne was never a great track for Red Bull," pointed out Verstappen. "Last year they were 1.8 seconds off [pole] and we still managed to finish second in the championship.
"There is no reason to stress out. It was not an ideal start, it's not where we want to be, but we try to change it as quickly as we can."
The big question is how quickly they can turn the Renault-powered RB13 into a victory-contending car so they keep in championship touch with Ferrari and Mercedes before it is too late.
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