Verstappen doubts Red Bull will catch Mercedes and Ferrari

Max Verstappen doubts that Red Bull will be able to catch up to rivals Mercedes and Ferrari in the second half of the season. So far in 2017, Red Bull have failed to match expectations, as many expected that energy drink team to be the closest challenger to Mercedes amid the introduction of new regulations.

Instead, the team has been playing catch up with Mercedes and has seen Ferrari leap ahead. Verstappen himself has endured a difficult year, with reliability problems and first lap incidents overshadowing his season. Red Bull's car has drastically improved since Australia but Verstappen doesn't think the car will get much better this year.

"For us, on tracks with not too many straights I think we are reasonably close, so I think around three-tenths down, more or less," says Verstappen. "But then of course when you get a few straights in the track I think we're a bit further away.

"I don't know what to expect for the upcoming races but of course it will be quite tough for us to really compete against them. I expect in Spa Mercedes will be again very strong because in general their power unit is still the best in the whole field, but it's very close.

"We'll keep developing, but the other teams do [as well]; we have to make sure that we do it a little faster and of course better," he added. "I think from the engine side there is not much coming compared to the other teams where there is still development on both sides. So we have to make sure our car is definitely going in the right direction."

 

Fergal Walsh

Replies (1)

Login to reply
  • Can't see it either, too far behind

    • + 0
    • Aug 21 2017 - 12:50

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

Test calendar

See full test schedule

World Championship standings 2026

Show full world champion standings

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
6 - Mar 8
Australia
13 - Mar 15
China
27 - Mar 29
Japan
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
1 - May 3
United States of America
22 - May 24
Canada
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
12 - Jun 14
Spain
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
10 - Apr 12
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
5 - Jun 7
Monaco Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Country Netherlands
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (28)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), Netherlands
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar