As Max Verstappen gears up for the final sprint of 2024 in Austin with a likely last update for Red Bull’s RB20, a world title hangs in the balance. “Every weekend from now on is crucial,” he asserts.
At four o’clock in the afternoon UTC, the press conference of Max Verstappen is a bustling affair. Nearly forty reporters are huddled around a small table on the terrace of Red Bull’s temporary residence at the Circuit of the Americas. The climax of a season that initially seemed to be a replica of the previous one has taken an unexpected twist due to internal strife at Red Bull, the rise of McLaren, and the associated comeback of Lando Norris in recent months.
Verstappen’s Lead and the Final Six Races
Verstappen enters the final series of six performances with a lead of 52 points over Norris, his friend and rival. Since the Spanish GP in late May, the three-time world champion has not won a race. In America, he hopes to reap the benefits of the upgrades to the RB20, although new parts do not necessarily mean an improvement. “I haven’t tried them on the simulator,” Verstappen admits. “We’ll see. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”
Red Bull’s Challenge in Austin Sprint Race
With a sprint race scheduled in Austin, Red Bull only has an hour to find the right setup and analyze and implement the data from the upgrades. This doesn’t make things any easier, acknowledges Max Verstappen. “You only have one session, which is quite challenging. You try to find the best setup and then rely on the data from the engineers whether they are happy with the upgrade or not. If that’s not the case, it gets a bit more difficult. But that’s life. I know that when I get in the car I give everything. And when the car is capable of a good result, I deliver that result.”
Verstappen’s Performance and Competition
The competition is well aware of this: it’s the main reason why the gap with pursuer Norris is still relatively large. But not insurmountable, Verstappen also knows with six more races and three sprint numbers ahead. In his view, it will be a big job to match the McLarens in terms of performance. “Based on what we saw in Singapore, we are certainly not good enough to suddenly catch up with McLaren here. I don’t expect it to suddenly be very different and we suddenly have the most dominant car. There have been restrictions with this car all year, now we are trying to improve it. But I don’t expect a complete turnaround.”
Verstappen’s Chances of Retaining the Title
Verstappen estimates his chances of retaining the title at fifty-fifty. “It’s yes or no. It’s that simple. A lot can go well, but also not. Nothing is certain from either side,” he states. “I just don’t think too far ahead, live from weekend to weekend. Otherwise, you get a lot of unnecessary thoughts that cost energy and I don’t want to waste it on that. Every weekend is crucial from now on.”
Allegations of ‘Cheating’ by Red Bull
Regarding the alleged ‘cheating’ by his employer, Red Bull is said to have added an ‘illegal’ function to the car that could adjust the ride height of the RB20 between qualifications and races, he was relatively nonchalant. “It doesn’t affect the performance, not much changes for us. We didn’t even discuss it in briefings.”
