Verstappen's qualities was in the way of Red Bull in 2020
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen's talent got in the way of Red Bull Racing on several occasions in the past, according to Pierre Waché. The technical director of the Austrian racing stable mentions in conversation with Motorsportmagazine.com 2020 season as the ultimate example.
It is well known that the Dutchman brings many qualities to Red Bull. This was evident from last season when he was able to bring in more points than Lewis Hamilton and thus win the world title. However, in the recent past, his high level also complicated the work of the staff at Red Bull.
Verstappen hid Red Bull's weaknesses
Waché says that in 2020 Verstappen managed to hide many weaknesses of the car with his driving skills. Therefore, only during the course of the season did the team find out that improvements were needed in a few areas. It caused Red Bull to lose the connection to Mercedes and have to settle for second place in the world championship.
"The car had a characteristic which Max liked and which allowed him to go faster," explains Waché. "As we went further down this path his lap times would improve. But it brought with it some instability on entry and eventually you come to a point where that is the limiting factor and you cannot go any faster. It also made the car very difficult for the other drivers."