Why Verstappen still has an advantage over Perez with the RB19

Sometimes the rumours flare up again: Red Bull Racing favour Max Verstappen with a better car than his teammate. Nonsense, according to everyone within Red Bull Racing, but Mika Hakkinen believes Verstappen does have an advantage.

Verstappen seems to get better every year in his Red Bull. The Dutchman has been driving for the Milton Keynes-based team since 2016 and already has three world titles under his belt after 2023. Things are going well for the Red Bull driver, and then people become critical. Is Red Bull building the car around Max? No, agrees Hakkinen, but the Finn knows better than anyone that Verstappen does have a big advantage.

Why the RB19 is a perfect fit for Verstappen

"Every driver who spends a certain amount of time in a team and they've been consistent with their speed, with the communication. It's the same story all the time. They always complain about the same thing. And during these years, when the same people are in the same team, developing the car, designing the car, and at the same time developing the technology, they can analyse the problems better and get much more detailed information on how the so-called driving problems of the car can be addressed precisely I believe that Red Bull's car has just been optimised with the technology, with the people, with Max's comments and with the consistency to make the car so that it really fits Max 100%," Hakkinen said in a video from Unibet.

With Verstappen behind the wheel, according to the two-time world champion, Red Bull has been able to achieve a level of performance not achievable for a teammate. ''Not even now that Checo has been there for a while.''

Despite the fact that the car is now fully suited to Verstappen's needs, Hakkinen remains impressed by what Max is showing. "I don’t think it’s just because the car and the team are so good. It requires a driver with something special. Max was able to deliver that something special. He could keep the level the same throughout the season," the Finn concluded.