On the eve of the race weekend in Jeddah Red Bull and Max Verstappen said they had looked into the issues they had last week in Bahrain and were working to not allow that to happen again. Another double 0 would be fatal for the title, given the strength shown by Ferrari, which could benefit from this delicate moment to scrape together as much gap as possible.
Indeed, although Red Bull suffered from reliability problems, the distance to Ferrari who secured a one-two finish was very small. “I wasn't entirely happy until I retired” Verstappen told the F1 microphones. “I was second, they would have been great points. Then the retirement... but we understood a lot of things and we'll try to apply them here, even if it's a different track. I expected more from the car, but we learned". Updates have also arrived on the problems experienced by Red Bull. It would have been, as also reported by Matteo Bobbi on Sky Sport F1, a miscalculation in the weight of petrol. Problem immediately highlighted by the Red Bull super consultant Helmut Marko. In fact, the two Red Bulls would have taken on less fuel than necessary, forcing both drivers to retire. If this were really the cause, it would be a serious error but not as serious as the more serious reliability problems.
“We will be close this weekend” instead said Perez, who was also stranded in Bahrain. “We are all experimenting with how to drive these cars and how to make the most of the potential. We are all far from 100%".
A gap, the one with Ferrari, also marked by the greater wear of the Red Bull tyres.
Speaking at the press conference preceding Free Practice 1 for this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen also got into a little conversation with his former teammate Carlos Sainz, now in the Ferrari: “By now we understand that Ferrari has the slowest car – it's all thanks to Carlos and Charles!” Max said ironically. Sainz did not miss the opportunity and retorted, always joking, "And we understand that Red Bull is the most reliable."
We know that Max will want to give his all in Jeddah, and maybe take that Pole that last year saw fade due to a fatal mistake at the last corner, 27 which led him to kiss the wall in his search for the perfect lap.
