Max Verstappen shares key differences between recent Red Bull transformations

Max Verstappen has pointed out some of the differences between Red Bull's late-season revival this season and last year, when a re-tooled RB21 helped vault him to within two points of a fifth consecutive F1 drivers' championship.

Verstappen has no hope of a similar turnaround this campaign, and will be officially ruled out of title contention if Kimi Antonelli outscores him by just six points in the upcoming United States Grand Prix.

However, the RB22's recent turnaround in fortunes is strikingly similar to the transformation its predecessor experienced at the Italian Grand Prix last September.

A floor upgrade at Monza headlined Red Bull managing to unlock the full potential of that car, which has previously proved troublesome and left him 104 points behind the then-leader in the championship, Oscar Piastri, heading into the round at the Temple of Speed.

This time around, Verstappen and the Milton Keynes-based squad were staring down the barrel of a first winless campaign since 2015, before an upgrade in Baku lifted the team into contention for victories on merit, across differing circuit profiles, as proved to be the case at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore.

Asked how different the two transformations have been, and whether last year was more down to set-up and unlocking potential, whereas this season the resurgence has been the result of upgrades, Verstappen agreed.

"Yes, exactly. And you answered it yourself already," the Dutchman responded to media, including RacingNews365. "Two completely different cars as well, right, with the regulations.

"Also, two completely different problems that we had to find lap time [from]."

"Plus, of course, also this year with the engine side of things, I think for everyone it's been sometimes a bit complicated to get the most out of it."

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Eliminating weaknesses

Last year, the RB21 had pace enough to win two of the opening seven rounds, but this year, its successor was over a second off the performance of Mercedes, which dominated the early stretch of the campaign.

Red Bull has progressed significantly in that time, both from the chassis and aerodynamic perspective, but also with its fledgling power unit, built in collaboration with Ford.

Nonetheless, Verstappen can still see considerable room for growth, and is keen to see steps taken heading into 2027.

"But from race one to now, I think we've gained a lot of experience," the four-time F1 drivers' champion added. "Of course, still not where we want to be, but I guess everyone will say the same thing.

"But we have learned so much and, definitely, also on the car side, have fixed a lot of our weaknesses. We just need to keep improving, keep learning this year, so that we can apply it into next year."