Max Verstappen explains why Red Bull can't be counted out in Canada

Max Verstappen

Verstappen explains why Red Bull can't be counted out in Canada

It's not just Mercedes and Ferrari with eyes on the prize.

Matthew Scott

Friday 7 June 2019 12:23

Max Verstappen has hinted that Red Bull might not be left behind by Mercedes and Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix as is perhaps expected. With the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve favouring cars with more power, Red Bull have often struggled to make an impression in Montreal.

Red Bull have had a car on the podium in Canada the past two years, but have not featured in the fight for victory there since Daniel Ricciardo capitalised on Mercedes' mechanical issues to win in 2014.

Ferrari's engine is widely regarded as the best on the grid and Mercedes have taken an upgrade for the Canada weekend, while Red bull are still getting to grips with their new Honda power units.

But Verstappen says the gap to the top two is perhaps not as great as thought.

"First we have to wait and see how quick we are because at the moment it's just speculation," he said.

"Maybe it's better than expected, you never know. We don't have a big, big deficit. We know that we are not the quickest but we'll try to fine-tune everything."

Verstappen has challenged Red Bull to keep their foot down in terms of development, however, as they look to make an impression on a title race currently being dominated by Mercedes.

Article continues under video

"We have to improve on every single aspect if we really want to challenge Mercedes," Verstappen said.

"If we fully understood why we would have made the changes already. You always want more downforce, everybody does, it's never enough.

"I think we already had some tracks with straights in. We know that Ferrari for example has great top speed so for them naturally this becomes a better track.

"If we compare it to Monaco it should be not as good for us but we will find out.

"I'm not massively worried about it, because at the end of the day you can only control what you can control."