Red Bull knows how to "make improvements," claims Verstappen
Ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, reigning world champion Max Verstappen indicates that the Milton Keynes-based outfit is aware of the areas it needs to address in the coming weeks in order to get closer to the sharp end of the field.
Verstappen ended the last day of pre-season testing in second spot, but his RB21 generated a series of issues across the three days of winter testing. Reliability issues prevented the team from completing a race simulation, while the team also struggled to find the right setup.
Asked about the pecking order, Verstappen noted that the early signs indicate that McLaren have managed to carry over their dominant form from the second half of the past season.
The Dutchman revealed that the pre-season testing indicated that Red Bull are behind the field-leading McLaren, but he is sure that the Milton Keynes-based outfit has ideas to improve the competitive level of the RB21.
"It is great to be getting back to racing again and officially starting the season. It is good to see the first race of the season starting up in Melbourne; I drove my Formula One debut race here, so there are a lot memories and we always see the passionate fans come out here to support.
"In Bahrain, we learnt a lot from Testing but there is still a lot more work to be done. We have ideas about what we can do and how we can take on what we learnt at Testing, so we will see how we go when we start driving on the track.
"We have been analysing the data and working on where we can make improvements and can work to optimise things further. We are ready to get started up again and I am excited to get the season underway.
The Dutchman will be joined by Liam Lawson in the upcoming season as the Kiwi makes the switch from the Racing Bulls to Red Bull's senior team.
"I'm looking forward to my first weekend with the Team. It'll be my first weekend in Melbourne as well, so there's a lot to look forward too. Myself and the Team have prepared a lot for the season which has been great. It’s been my first official pre-season in Formula One, so it's nice to bring all the hard work we've done into Melbourne for this weekend.
"The simulator work we've done has been really important, but also the time I've spent with the engineers over the winter. It's a new crew for me, so I wanted to build relationships with the Team ahead of the start of the campaign. It's obviously really exciting to get the season underway and, of course, have my first Australian Grand Prix.
"It's close to home, so it feels like a home race for me. I can’t wait to get started as an Oracle Red Bull Racing driver and I'll give one hundred percent all season for the Team and the fans - that starts in Melbourne this weekend," stated Lawson.
