Adrian Newey watched with satisfaction as Max Verstappen took his third victory in a row at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Although the Dutchman had some tricky moments in the race, the Brit understands well what the Dutchman was struggling with.
The top designer finds it difficult to say how good the RB18 was in Barcelona. "We had problems with the DRS of Max," he notes in the F1 Nation Podcast. Prior to that, Verstappen was still bothered by the wind, which caused him to go off track. "The wind was very difficult. The car is so wind sensitive."
Leclerc's failure offered perspective for Verstappen
Although it looked like Charles Leclerc was going to drive gloriously to victory, problems with his engine turned out to throw a spanner in the works. The Monegasque had no choice but to drive his car into the pit lane and abandon the race.
The moment gave perspective to Verstappen, who at the time was still facing Sergio Perez and George Russell. Remarkably, Red Bull decided to let the reigning world champion change tires immediately and go for a three-stop, ultimately giving him the win. "The tire strategy was the deciding factor," Newey said.