F1 News: Max Verstappen admits mistake in important Red Bull decision

F1 News & Gossip

Verstappen admits mistake in important Red Bull decision

Max Verstappen admits he got a decision wrong at the Japanese Grand Prix

By Shay Rogers.

Thursday 11 April 2024 06:00

Max Verstappen has admitted that he got a key car decision wrong in the run up to the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Dutchman returned to dominant form after a rare retirement in Australia, by bouncing back with an emphatic win at Suzuka.

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He led almost every lap and was completely untroubled by any of his close rivals on Sunday, as Red Bull took their third one-two finish from four races.

The RB20 currently holds a fair advantage over the likes of Ferrari and McLaren at most tracks, but both teams have shown promising signs of closing in.

The Red Bull RB20 driven by Max Verstappen at Suzuka

Max Verstappen's race engineer - Gianpiero Lambiase

What happened between Max Verstappen and Red Bull?

That means Red Bull may have to keep an eye over their shoulder when F1 arrives in Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May.

Part of the reason why the Milton Keynes outfit has been so formidable is the incredible talent which they possess within the team.

They aren’t afraid to challenge themselves and each other – something which saw Max Verstappen proven wrong at the Japanese Grand Prix when his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase called for a setup change.

“We had, not an argument, but he said, ‘are you sure you want to do this?’ I was pretty sure and it turned out to be wrong!” Verstappen said. “But he was right.

"In a way it also fires me up because I am like, ‘even though I am not entirely happy with the balance now I will still try to be as consistent as I can be without shouting back at him.’ We have a great relationship, and it works well like that.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari Mercedes McLaren Japanese Grand Prix