Technical director at Red Bull Pierre Waché responds to the course of the British GP for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman faced multiple setbacks during the race weekend at Silverstone, and ultimately could not finish his race – due to a problem with the rear wing. Waché understands that the world champion reacted with frustration after the Grand Prix, but also immediately states: ‘The confidence is still there’.
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The British GP was a weekend full of setbacks for Max Verstappen. After engine problems during qualifying, he ended up in the gravel in the final phase of the Grand Prix on Sunday. Due to the rear wing not closing properly, he lost control of his RB22. Verstappen was furious with Red Bull afterwards: “Am I going to talk to the team? I just want nothing to do with it at the moment,” said the world champion.
Pierre Waché, technical director at Red Bull, however, does not see only frustration in the driver. “Max points out things that affect him more than we can imagine,” Waché tells AutoHebdo. “In our simulations, there are things we don’t see as a big problem, but for him they are.”
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‘Confidence in Max is still there’
The Frenchman also immediately gives an example. “There are things he feels through the steering wheel, but that we cannot detect in the simulator, while the potential of the car is exactly the same there,” he continues. “Max is not frustrated because he doesn’t win. The most important thing is that he has confidence that we can give him a car with which he can win. That confidence is there.”
To what extent the situation can still improve, however, in view of the applicable cost cap, remains to be seen. “The biggest problem in development remains production and research capacity,” says Waché. “The development of the car for 2027 will start very soon and that will inevitably lead to compromises in production.”
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Read everything about the Belgian GP here
