Max Verstappen manager pinpoints major Red Bull change: 'The politics are gone'

The manager of Max Verstappen feels there have been several reasons behind his driver's stunning performance surge, which has given the Dutchman a chance of becoming a five-time F1 champion.

From seemingly being down and out heading into the summer break after a desperate ninth-placed finish in the Hungrian Grand Prix, Verstappen heads into this weekend's season finale in Abu Dhabi just 12 points adrift of McLaren's Lando Norris.

In the nine grands prix since, Verstappen has not been off the podium, scoring five wins, finishing runner-up twice, and third on two other occasions. It has been an astonishing turnaround.

In a post-Qatar Grand Prix interview with RacingNews365, Vermuelen described Verstappen's drive in Qatar, in particular, as "next level", as he took full advantage of McLaren's strategy blunder to at least give himself a shot of another championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Explaining the turnaround, aside from Verstappen's incredible displays, Vermeulen said: "In the end, we understood that there was nothing to lose, so we went a little bit more aggressive on setup. We tried new things, and it worked out very well.

"It's due to the team, and also the boys and the girls in the factory, that we regrouped. We thought, 'Okay, we have nothing to lose'. We tried everything, and the outcome is that we are here, where we are now.

"That is a big chapeau to the whole team, whatever the outcome now is, whether we win it or not."

Red Bull 'a more stable playground'

One significant change inside the team was the sacking of Christian Horner as team principal in early July, shortly after the British Grand Prix, leading to the appointment of former Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies.

The Frenchman has often modestly insisted his input has been "zero". Vermeulen maintains that with Horner no longer in the picture, "there is a more stable playground" at Red Bull, and that "the politics are gone".

He added: "We knew that we had to perform to get back in the game, so everyone was very realistic on that, and everyone has given their best to make the next step in what they were doing.

"In the end, Laurent, of course, has been the bridging factor to challenge everyone, and we have a fantastic race car - not always, still sometimes the car is a diva.

"But [on Sunday in Qatar] the car was, at least, fantastic. But we've also had races where it has not been so good. It's a very small window."

There is a similar window for Verstappen to become only the fourth driver in F1 history to win a fifth title - Juan Manuel Fangio, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher the others.

Should Verstappen win again on Sunday, with Norris fourth, he will further add to his legacy.

"Whatever happens, we have nothing to lose," said Vermeulen. "Max will give it his all. The pressure is on McLaren, not on us.

"We are in a better position than we thought we would be three or four months ago. For us, everything is a bonus now."