Verstappen explains 'team-mate killer' preference

Max Verstappen has explained the behaviour he enjoys from his Red Bull, highlighting a preference for a responsive front end, a feature his team-mates have found difficult to live with.

It is often remarked that the Dutchman seeks extreme characteristics from his car and that the nervous nose Red Bull dutifully provides him with is part of what makes him a 'team-mate killer'.

Since Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Sergio Perez have struggled to match Verstappen. 

Only the Mexican driver has proved to have staying power at the Milton Keynes-based squad, but his underwhelming performances at the wheel of the RB20 have called his position into question.

The contemporary ground-effects era in F1 has produced a fleet of cars that appear to get more difficult to extract performance from the more they are developed.

This has been the case for Red Bull this year and there is an argument that Verstappen's preference is exacerbating Perez's current plight.

"From my point [of view], I just like to have a good front end," Verstappen told Formula.hu. "I like the car to turn quite quickly and quite strongly.

"But of course, everything needs to be in balance. You cannot just throw everything at the front and expect the rear to follow, so you have to try and find a middle way with that [and] my middle way might be different than someone else, right?"

'Everything feels very natural...'

The nucleus of the 26-year-old's team-mate trend was described by Albon in The Players' Tribune last year.

The Williams driver explained how the "unique" way Red Bull builds its cars is Verstappen-centric and that his "distinct style of driving" lends to a car that is difficult for a lot of drivers to "sync up with".

Albon highlighted his preference for "front end" and how Verstappen takes "front-end sensitivity" to a new level.

"I’ve been teammates with George [Russell] and Charles [Leclerc] and I’ve always had way more nose than them," the two-time podium finisher contended.

He added: "When I got into the Red Bull… there was so much nose on the thing that if you blew on the wheel the car would turn. If you play Call of Duty, or a game like that, turn your sensitivity up to the highest it will go. That’s what it’s like to drive that car."

However, to Verstappen, the way he sets up his car and drives in F1 is "natural" to him.

"Everyone has their own particular driving style, so whatever works for me might not work for another driver, but another driver maybe drives a bit different and they also are quick," the three-time drivers' champion added.

"So, from my side, everything feels very natural the way my car is driving, because that's what I like from the car. But maybe for someone else, that's not preferred. That's just how it goes."