Latest F1 News

Verstappen reveals why F1 rivals FAIL against Red Bull

Matthew Hobkinson Saturday 13 January 2024 09:57

Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Qatar, generic

Max Verstappen has suggested that Red Bull's F1 rivals are focusing too heavily on their performance in qualifying and not during the race itself.

Although he was still supremely dominant on a Saturday, the only chink of light in Verstappen's armour appeared to shine through on occasion during qualifying. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would be able to wrestle pole away from the Dutchman on numerous occasions for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton also achieving the same feat for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Yet time and time again, Red Bull's rivals would fall away during the race as they could not match Verstappen's pace in the RB19 of the the course of an entire grand prix.

Max Verstappen won a stunning 19 out of 22 races for Red Bull in 2023

The Dutchman also secured 12 pole positions

Charles Leclerc was unable to convert any of his five poles for Ferrari into race wins

Verstappen: No Red Bull magic on Sunday

And now the three-time world champion has hinted at the fact that a focus on qualifying might have led the likes of Ferrari to suffer when Sunday rolled around.

"I don’t know – I don’t think we do anything magic in the race," he told Motorsport.com.

"We do our normal offset. I think the other people are having a great qualifying but then not a good race, if you know what I mean.

"Of course, you always look at the race performance, but we also want to be quick in qualifying. It’s nothing weird that we do just to purely focus on the race."

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz

Latest News

Canadian Grand Prix

Mercedes F1 star George Russell's Canadian GP victory under threat after late Red Bull protest

3 hours ago

Canadian Grand Prix

FIA summon McLaren F1 stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri over Canadian GP crash

Yesterday 23:12

Canadian Grand Prix

F1 star claims rival 'ruined' his weekend after LATE FIA penalty issued at Canadian Grand Prix

Yesterday 22:57

Canadian Grand Prix

'George Russell can WIN F1 title this year' - Canadian Grand Prix Hot Takes

Yesterday 22:29

Canadian Grand Prix

F1 Results Today: McLaren team-mates COLLIDE to blow championship wide open at Canadian Grand Prix

Yesterday 21:43

Canadian Grand Prix

Lando Norris CRASHES into Oscar Piastri at Canadian Grand Prix

Yesterday 21:39

More news

FIA announce Charles Leclerc disqualification verdict ahead of Canadian Grand Prix

12 june

250.000+ views

FIA announce Lewis Hamilton penalty verdict after Spanish Grand Prix investigation

1 june

200.000+ views

Aston Martin F1 team issue official statement after Fernando Alonso retirement

27 may

200.000+ views

FIA announce second penalty demotion after dramatic Spanish Grand Prix

2 june

150.000+ views

F1 champion loses his driving licence

4 june

150.000+ views

FIA announce harsh McLaren penalty verdict after Oscar Piastri incident at Canadian GP

14 june

F1 News 24/7

Races

About GPFans

GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.

We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.

With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.

Follow us on your favorite social media channel

Corporate & Media

Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY