The question of when Max Verstappen will ‘quickly’ collect his fourth world title seems like one from another universe at the moment. Of course, the Dutchman still has a considerable lead of 31 points over Charles Leclerc, who won on Sunday, after the Monaco Grand Prix. But the last three races have given Red Bull food for thought. The three-time world champion, who finished sixth in his hometown, heats things up with clear lyrics.
Verstappen had to look on from a large distance when Leclerc and his Ferrari arrived at the finish at the Circuit de Monaco. It was his first victory of the season and his second in the Grand Prix of the small state. That put Max back in his tracks.
And yet, it should be noted that the race in Monaco is not very representative of races on ‘normal’ circuits. Red Bull expects to be back where it belongs on such tracks, team boss Christian Horner said reassuringly.
Much depends on the car Max will race in. In the kit-car races of his Red Bull armada, Max rarely finds a match because the RBPT has The Best Car in the Field as Horner has been proclaiming since the first race in Bahrain. In Monte Carlo, the interruption of Mercedes’ dominance was completely logical because overtaking is almost impossible in the alleys of the principality.
Mercedes has let it be known that it has had the long straight rear tyres launched by Pirelli translated into an endless agony for the entire season. The only question is, of course, ‘what will happen in Baku next Sunday’.
Max seemed ready to move mountains before the Monaco GP, but in Baku – where he had a 1 and 2 position in recent years – he has never had to give way to any Mercedes driver or even an enthusiastic McLaren driver either.
Sebastian Vettel, who is now simply ‘turning laps for the tea money’ because the ‘Aston Martin’ has given him so little, is also of the opinion that the duel with Verstappen promises a lot. They have respect for each other because Vettel clearly won the radio from no less than Hamilton last time. Hamilton had less of a claim on the tubis.
Charles Leclerc has taken advantage of racing on the streets of Monte Carlo and Red Bull also showed that it is not unbeatable everywhere. The fact that the tyres are different five minutes later did not prevent this from happening just to this team that bet the way in which Grand Prix are driven on their head.
They have gone back to the drawing board in Milton Keynes where they are hammering new tyres with thicker walls off the new rim. The battle for grip to take hold of the wheelbarrow in the turns of Hungaroring was the big lesson that both excuse plates were completely absent. Pirelli had to do something because the hard tyres are worth no more and less in the UK drivers’ championship.
Max drives just as hard as a year ago, but the General Director of Mercedes that will have Michael Schumacher completely agree that Monsiuer Verstappen has to take it up with the many newcomers on the track. There are four in two races.
Michael was really good at managing the old tyres and changing a car that was not drivable into one where he could not be held back. Of course, Max also wants that, but the lag of time after an early stop then meant that the tyre works in front of six-time champion Hamilton were already dead before the end of the race last time.
Then it was also the salutation to uncle Damon Hill on Radio 1 that was not associated with this team in a select analogen, because then you realize that only 180 km/h was possible if at Kemmel also Marco Benz was a vanguard with subscription in the opening of the first bend.
It is not superfluous to point out that Pirelli has now cooked a gamma tyre where this street racing in Baku will be entirely different and the cooldown is footloose.
So Verstappen will still need a bit of that hand milkshake from four years ago with the backhoe that drove his car down there that will be ready very soon because they changed everything.