Verstappen shares positive Red Bull outlook after upgrade

Max Verstappen is upbeat and feels Red Bull is "moving in the right direction" after its upgrades in Azerbaijan.

The form of the RB20 slumped drastically in the summer, with the nadir coming in the Italian Grand Prix, where Verstappen could only finish sixth and Sergio Perez eighth. 

Problems with the balance of the machine were reported, with Verstappen branding the car that had won him seven of the first 10 races "undrivable" and a "monster."

He has not won since the Spanish GP, some eight races ago, with Lando Norris closing to within 52 points in the F1 drivers' standings with 180 left on the board in the final six weekends. 

In Azerbaijan, a new 'patchwork' floor was introduced that took parts of previous iterations as a temporary stop-gap whilst a more complete package was prepared for the United States GP in Austin on October 20th. 

Perez was set for a podium with the new floor in Baku before his late crash with Carlos Sainz whilst Verstappen used it to qualify and finish second in Singapore - a track that had previously brought the worst out of the Red Bull with the bumps and kerbs. 

Reflecting on this Baku upgrade, Verstappen felt optimistic that Red Bull was finally heading in the right direction.

"Yes, it felt better. That was already a good step for us," he told Motorsport.com of the new floor.

"I do think we are moving in the right direction now, but it will take some time. You can't turn something like this around in one or two weeks. 

"But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku, hopefully, we can continue to make good steps from here."