Crucial Max Verstappen factor in Red Bull comeback highlighted

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has pinpointed Red Bull's turnaround in form on listening to the feedback from Max Verstappen.

The Milton Keynes-based squad has enjoyed a strong uptick in pace of late, winning two of the last three grands prix.

Verstappen's form has brought him into conversations as an outside bet for the title, which so far this year, has been between the two McLaren drivers.

The four-time champion sits 66 points down on championship leader Oscar Piastri ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.

Having suffered in the mid-part of the campaign with a series of lacklustre results, Red Bull's resurgence has been praised by Herbert.

“A lot of that is because Red Bull are listening more to what Max is saying,” he told BettingLounge.

“Whatever was going on before with the simulator drivers doing their simulation back in the factory in Milton Keynes wasn't working out for Max. So there has definitely been a change. 

“They are applying more of what Max is saying. That does seem to be putting them in a good place.”

A major change that occurred within the Red Bull team this year saw the exit of team principal Christian Horner, who was subsequently replaced by Laurent Mekies.

Herbert labelled the shift as a positive decision for the team.

“You can’t ignore the change in leadership either with Laurent Mekies replacing Christian Horner,” he said. “He really seems to have created a nice harmony within the team.

“The relationship between him and Max is much closer than it was between Max and Horner who has that running battle with Jos [Verstappen] which created so much negative energy. 

“The whole situation has changed, and it's been a very positive thing as we've seen in last couple of races. 

“It's not 100 % certain that they're going to be competitive at every single race, but recent performances have shown that that car is going to be a major threat and it's going to be taking points away from those two McLarens and that's only going to add more pressure to McLarens and to the drivers at the same time.

“They had the dominant most competitive car but that twist in Red Bull’s fortunes has now started to come into play and unfortunately for Lando and Oscar and McLaren, the twist has come to the fastest driver on the grid. 

“You know he's going to be a real threat whatever race they go to. It's probably the worst scenario for McLaren to have.”