Verstappen has good news for Norris: 'Don't expect sudden changes'

How does Verstappen feel about the upgrades?

Helmut Marko and Christian Horner previously announced that there would be a major update package at the Circuit of the Americas, and Red Bull has therefore used the break between the F1 races in Singapore and Austin to work on the car. Verstappen, however, has not yet tested the updates in the simulator. "I actually didn't try it, so let's see. We don't have a lot of time to really test everything. But we'll see how it goes, to be honest. I don't know at the moment what it will give," he said in the paddock.

Asked if he feels the pressure from McLaren due to the strong form of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's team, Verstappen replied, "You could say yes, but I'm not, because I know that when I jump in the car, I try to do the best I can. When the car is capable of good results, I'll deliver the results. When it's not, then it will be a bit more difficult. Of course, naturally, I like to win races and championships. But if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. It's how life is."

The three-time world champion admits that on a sprint weekend it is more difficult to assess and analyse new parts, as drivers only have one hour of practice time. "You rely more on data then. Because in one session, it's very hard. Because you just start with the car. That's the package. You try to balance it, you try to find the best setup on it, and then you rely on the data," Verstappen explained.

Verstappen does not expect to overtake McLaren simply

The championship leader does not simply expect Red Bull to overtake McLaren again with the new updates. "If you look at the pace and the difference in Singapore, definitely not. But every track is different. We know that Singapore is not our strongest track anyway, but I don't expect that suddenly it's going to be completely different and we are going to be the dominating car. We have our limitations a bit with this car already the whole year. Now we're trying to make it better, but don't expect it to completely swing," he stressed.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton