Verstappen surprised by Red Bull 'aggressiveness'

Max Verstappen has revealed his surprise when shown drawings of the new RB20 last season but insists the direction taken by Red Bull is "controlled aggression".

Red Bull enters the upcoming campaign hoping to secure its third straight double-championship having dominated last season.

Verstappen took his third F1 title after claiming 19 race wins while team-mate Sergio Perez took two.

The RB19 is statistically the most dominant car in F1 history but instead of a simple evolution, Red Bull has launched a revamped successor as it aims to retain its lead over the competition this year.

However, Verstappen has no concerns over the major alterations as he aims to add to his winning tally this year.

“I’m quite happy with the direction that they chose,” Verstappen told media including RacingNews365.

“I saw the drawings in Abu Dhabi, the last race and I was like, ‘wow, that's quite different in a way’.

“They’ve not been conservative, let's say it like that. I think what I like about the team is that we had a great package but they took the chance to really go all out and try to make it better.”

Verstappen coy over Red Bull chances

Having been able to switch focus onto its new car earlier than the competition last year due to its advantage in the pecking order, Red Bull is the favourite to succeed this season.

While the radical changes on the RB20 have been noted, Verstappen highlighted that it does not guarantee Red Bull will be a frontrunner as it waits to see the pace from its rivals

“Of course, time will tell if it's really, really good but from what I see within the team, everyone is just happy with what they have achieved in the winter,” he said.

“But then again, we don't know. We can't control what other people did.”

When asked by RacingNews365 if there was a need for such aggressive changes, Verstappen said: “I think it's controlled aggressiveness.

“Everyone is just happy with what they’ve done, it doesn't seem like it's a question mark of what they've done, like they're not entirely sure.”