Verstappen points Pink Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress

Max Verstappen thinks Pink Bull can overlook about successful any championship in Components 1 subsequent yr if it doesn’t make good progress with its RB21 automotive.

Whereas the Dutchman celebrated his fourth consecutive drivers’ title with Pink Bull in 2024, he’s properly conscious that success owed a lot to a dominant begin to the marketing campaign that gave him a snug buffer within the standings.

And it was the group’s subsequent dip in kind that opened the door for McLaren to grab the constructors’ crown for the primary time since 1998.

Whereas Pink Bull did rediscover some kind within the closing levels of the yr, Verstappen acknowledged the competitors is now so shut that his outfit must take an excellent step ahead for 2025.

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Talking concerning the prospects for subsequent yr in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Verstappen stated: “If we proceed like this, I will not be champion subsequent yr. It is so simple as that. We actually must make steps to be aggressive subsequent season. Everyone knows that.

“I belief the group that they’ll repair the steadiness points from final season. Sure issues that we could not regulate final yr shall be modified for subsequent yr.

“We all know that we must be higher over the kerbs, bumps and within the sluggish corners. These are usually our weaknesses. If we’re nonetheless crushed then, it is going to be primarily based on pure pace.

“I all the time hold the strain on, additionally on myself. I attempt to not suppose too frivolously about issues. At one level the automotive was barely driveable. There was no extra to get out of it than this.”

Verstappen additionally revealed within the interview how his personal enter into the traits of the automotive on the Italian Grand Prix helped steer growth of the RB20 again on monitor following the mid-season wobbles.

“All plans for brand new components, which had been to come back after that [race in Monza], may very well be thrown into the bin,” he stated. “The group really began from scratch after that. Earlier than that, they could not discover the precise downside.

“I noticed a few graphics after we had been trying on the knowledge. I noticed sure aerodynamic shifts in how we entered the corners, was corners and likewise when it comes to journey heights.

“It was totally different from final yr’s automotive. I stated, ‘Hey, it is very clear that this and that is the issue, is not it?’ That turned out to be proper, I heard afterward.

“I hadn’t seen these strains and people graphics earlier than. I then stated that it was fairly clear what we needed to work on, as a result of the engineers clearly know precisely what had been modified from final yr’s automotive.

“Firstly of final season we had been nonetheless successful our races convincingly, however I felt even then that the steadiness of the automotive didn’t really feel the best way I needed it to.

“However, again then, we nonetheless had a giant lead over the opposite groups, who won’t have had an excellent winter.”

Verstappen additionally had a cheeky dig at rivals, suggesting that a few of their success was all the way down to utilizing tips.

“Issues occurred within the background that meant we had no probability in any respect in sure races,” he stated. “I do know that for positive, however nobody will ever admit that.”

Extra reporting by Ronald Vording