Verstappen admits Red Bull 'didn't understand' F1 shortcoming

Max Verstappen has admitted Red Bull struggled to "understand" the race pace of its F1 rivals during the Dutchman's 10-grand prix winless streak.

After claiming victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in June, the 27-year-old failed to reach the top step of the podium until his sensational triumph at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, in early November - his longest winless run since 2020.

Verstappen is now on the cusp of winning a fourth-consecutive drivers' championship, owning to the strength Red Bull showed in the early part of the year and his ability to remain competitive in qualifying through the lean period.

However, the 62-time grand prix winner has conceded the team was at a loss to understand how McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were able to enjoy the delta in the long-run performance they did over the four-month run.

"Of course, that was important," Verstappen told media including RacingNews365 when asked about ending his and Red Bull's victory drought. "I wanted to, of course, win a bit sooner - it's been tough for us.

"We always kept pushing. We didn't really understand why the others were so fast in the race, especially.

"I've been trying a lot of things to improve the car, and starting P17 [in Brazil], didn't look like we were going to win the race again."

Lando Norris' sprint win at Interlagos had reduced Verstappen's championship advantage to 44 points with four grand prix left. With the three-time drivers' champion storming through the field to victory, that gap now stands at 62. 

Despite the outlook in the constructors' title fight looking more bleak for Red Bull, the Dutch driver is now confident the Milton Keynes team can build on that result and be more competitive over the final rounds, even if it unlikely to overturn McLaren's 59-point lead.

"It's an incredible result for us. A massive boost for the team, because honestly, it's been tough," Verstappen added of the Brazilian result.

"But it is also a big strength of the team to stay calm and just try to work on performance and try to improve our situation.

"And I'm confident. I'm confident for the last three races that we can fight again, and especially in the race that we will be more competitive."

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