Max Verstappen makes 'aggressive' claim behind remarkable title turnaround

Max Verstappen has detailed how Red Bull upgrades and changes have enabled him to run the more "aggressive" set-ups he craves. 

After the Dutch GP, which kicked off the second half of the season, Verstappen found himself 104 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri and 70 behind second-placed Lando Norris.

Just five races later, Verstappen is 35 points behind Piastri, who is now second in the standings having had a wobble in form, with Norris's win in Mexico City returning him to the summit by just a single point - to sit 36 clear of Verstappen. 

The Dutchman has won three of the previous five grands prix, and finished second and third in the other two, whilst also winning the Austin Sprint to ramp up the pressure on the McLaren duo. 

Reflecting on the breakthrough in performance of the RB21, Verstappen has explained how the team has been able to dial in more feeling on the nose of the car - something he demands to eke out performance.

"We tried a lot of things, and a lot of them did not work," Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365. 

"The upgrades made it possible to run the car in a different configuration, and these cars are super sensitive, so if you are sliding a bit less, the tyres also work a bit better, and that gives you better race pace.

"So there were a lot of things that just came together, which suddenly unlocked quite a bit more pace within the car.

"Naturally, that gives me a bit more confidence, and it allowed us to set up the car a little bit more aggressively, a bit more on the nose and without losing the rear, and that's exactly what you want. 

"It is impossible to know how competitive we are going to be, so I will just race my race."