Verstappen: "This time last year, we didn't have as fast a car as Mercedes"

At the Singapore Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has his first chance to secure his second world title. That chance is still very slim, but at the same time is indicative of the completely different way the title race is playing out this year compared to 2021. Verstappen points out that around this time last year, Red Bull Racing was even behind Mercedes in terms of performance.

There is little to be unhappy about at the Austrian racing team at the moment. Still, improvement remains the goal, and Verstappen stresses that there is definitely room for improvement. "We have to keep focusing on our speed over one lap. In qualifying, we are far from having an easy time this year. And we know that Saturday in Singapore is important," he said according to The Telegraph.

Verstappen, who celebrates his 25th birthday in Singapore on Friday, speaks of a special season. "This time last year, we did not have as fast a car as Mercedes, but were still able to win races sometimes on strategy," explains the Red Bull driver, whose team has taken a huge step in lead-up to the 2022 Formula 1 season.

Verstappen on turnaround at Red Bull

Especially in races, the RB18's pace is increasingly inimitable. Verstappen points to the major improvements Red Bull has made since the start of the season, when the team was still regularly struggling with reliability issues. Weight was also a pain point, but that disadvantage has now been largely made up. "It is nice to see how we have turned that around. The car was still considerably too heavy back then and is much more competitive now," concludes the reigning world champion.

Next year, the balance of power could look very different again, but Verstappen is confident that his team can continue to come on strong in 2023. He points out that the rule changes are a lot smaller than they were for 2022 and is confident that Red Bull knows exactly what it needs to do to make the car even faster.