Verstappen delivers verdict: Where is the McLaren stronger than the Red Bull?

09:27, 01 Aug

bySandy van Wijngaarden

Max Verstappen has announced that he will stay with Red Bull Racing until 2026. Although the Dutchman remains loyal to his current team, he sees several areas of improvement for this season.

The topic of media day in Hungary was the announcement by Verstappen that he would stay with Red Bull Racing next year. Helmut Marko confirmed this earlier in a German medium, but the Dutchman also wanted to put an end to all speculation.

An important point for Verstappen to stay with Red Bull was seeing progression in the team's performance. McLaren's performances currently determine the ambition of other teams. In conversation with GPblog, among others, the four-time world champion explained where McLaren's car is better than Red Bull's. It came down to two points.

Verstappen explains where the McLaren is better than the Red Bull

Verstappen said:"The McLaren? Well, it's definitely better on its tyres. You can keep the tyres alive a lot nicer. You can clearly see that in the wet on intermediates where if you have good tyre management, it even comes out more on that tyre because the tyre is more fragile, it overheats even faster and they definitely have that very well under control.

"At the same time I think their medium speed performance is incredible compared to I would say everyone else on the grid. The rotation that they have on the front axle without losing the rear is something that is also quite incredible to see and that's something that we have to try and achieve."

Max Verstappen in the F1-paddock in Hungary - Red Bull Contentpool

At Spa-Francorchamps, Red Bull Racing brought the first part of a package of updates. The effectiveness of these updates is difficult to evaluate due to the changing conditions in Belgium, but Verstappen was initially satisfied. In Hungary, the team is bringing the second part of this package.