Red Bull F1’s Adrian Newey thinks the reaction time and control of Max Verstappen’s car, who won his second F1 world championship in 2022, is “really fantastic”.
Max Verstappen won the F1 Japan GP held at the Suzuka circuit and took the second consecutive F1 World Champion victory while watching the Honda.
Max Verstappen’s title win and Red Bull’s 14 wins in 18 races mean the Red Bull RB18 has become Adrian Newey’s most successful F1 car. This is an impressive feat for a designer who has set records with cars like the Williams FW14B and McLaren MP4 / 13.
Adrian Newey, who has worked with F1 world champions such as Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel, won the title with Max Verstappen driving Newey’s car I was asked my opinion on where I fit among the pilots.
“Classifying them is very unfair. I think the most important thing is how different they are: the strengths of their individual characters,” Newey said.
“The thing I can say about Max is his reaction speed. His control of the car is really good. I think we’ve seen him move outside of Charles Leclerc in Japan.”
“Charles could actually have a better start at Turns 1 and 2. It was incredible commitment and control. That’s what makes him so special.”
But one of the victories this year that impressed Adrian Newey was not the Japanese Grand Prix. Raised the F1 Hungarian GP, which required more speed and aggression.
“For me, his most important game this year is Hungary,” said Newey.
“He had a problem with a broken crankshaft in the pitlane, so he was 10th on the grid. He had a problem with the clutch, so be patient with him not to use the DRS for many laps to check the clutch. He did. with total perseverance, without resisting, and then when we had to push him he was completely calm. “
With Verstappen looking to improve on an already impressive 2021 season, Adrian Newey points out that last year’s title win gave Verstappen self-confidence.
“I think part of that is the relief of winning his first championship, maybe he doesn’t feel compelled to challenge himself like he did last year,” said Newey. .
“He’s definitely … I mean, he’s very young, he’s just turned 25 and he’s learning all the time.”
“Maturity comes anyway, but I think winning the championship last year took some of the weight off him. In this year’s race, when he wasn’t in the lead, he showed real perseverance. I have a lot of respect for him for taking a big step forward and maybe two years ago he wouldn’t have done it. “
Max Verstappen impressed Red Bull Racing this season with his perseverance and maturity, a sentiment that team principal Christian Horner has repeated many times this season.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast after the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing chief engineer Paul Monaghan said Max Verstappen had calmed down. This has never happened before.
“From my observation, and this is just my personal opinion, I have seen Max feel more confident in his performance,” said Monaghan.
“Disappointments like Bahrain and Australia didn’t drive him crazy. You could see a composure in him that wasn’t always like that in the past. Last year was a tumultuous season with Lewis and he held out until the end. worn out”
“This year, in the face of adversity, he has shown an incredible level of skill and confidence.
“So I’ve seen Max ride more mature than I’ve ever seen. Last year was fantastic, but this year there was composure and confidence.”
Category: F1 / Red Bull / Max Verstappen
