Red Bull Racing started off 2024 strong, but its pace has
dwindled as the competition is able to find more speed through mid-season
updates — and that frustration has carried into Interlagos.
After a difficult sprint qualifying session that will see
him start in fourth ahead of the abbreviated race, Max Verstappen isn’t
convinced that his RB20 will have the necessary speed to power him to a win at
the Brazilian
GP.
Max Verstappen says Red Bull “quite a bit off over one
lap”
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen stepped out of the car
after sprint qualifying having secured a fourth-place starting slot on the grid
for the shortened race tomorrow — but with very little hope for a more
productive weekend going forward.
“As soon as we went into qualifying, it looked like we were
definitely off,” the reigning World Champion told broadcasters after the sprint
session.
“A bit difficult on the bumps,” he said of the track
surface.
“I mean, they did the resurfacing, but I think they actually
made it worse to drive. It’s extremely bumpy everywhere. That’s not good for
our cars.
“The car’s jumping around a lot, and this cost me quite a
bit of lap time, unfortunately.”
While one challenging session doesn’t always sentence a
driver to the rear of the field for an entire weekend, Verstappen has argued
that there’s little to feel good about going forward.
“For tomorrow, I don’t know,” he said when asked about if he
can improve in the sprint race, or in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“Normally, when you’re already quite a bit off over one lap,
I don’t think we are particularly the strongest in the race,” he said.
“We’ll have to see how that goes tomorrow in the sprint. Of
course, I also know there is maybe some weather around that can come, but maybe
not for the sprint, and then, yeah, for the penalty, I have a bit more work to
do.”
Verstappen is referring to the five-place grid penalty he’ll be taking for Sunday’s Grand Prix after replacing power unit components. No matter where he starts, he’ll have that penalty to contend with.
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