Verstappen has good news, though it comes at the expense of Red Bull’s catering

Verstappen seemed on course for a top-three finish in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. But a slide in the penultimate corner of his decisive Q3 lap ended any hope of a strong result. The Dutchman will start Sunday’s race from fifth, which will be the first with a series of updates.

On the Saturday of the race weekend, Verstappen was able to give an initial verdict on the set of changes to his RB22, which, among other things, had shed excess weight. “Most of the upgrades worked well,” Verstappen said after the session to, among others, GPblog.

Verstappen has so much experience in Formula 1 that he can already sense whether Red Bull has taken a step in the right direction. “It didn’t feel bad. But of course it’s a fact that you’re still a bit behind. So in that respect you haven’t caught up that much yet, if you also compare it to Barcelona. It’s a short lap here and I think Mercedes was very strong in the fast corner. And that’s where you’re still missing a bit, I think.”

Red Bull therefore doesn’t seem to have completely closed the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari—perhaps that will happen in the coming weeks. With the budget cap, the Austrian team can’t spend unlimited amounts, but Verstappen confirms that more updates are on the way.

“Several things are still coming. There’s still a lot possible. They should just spend a bit less on catering,” Verstappen concluded his session with the Dutch press with a big laugh. He was referring to 2022, when the FIA penalized Red Bull for exceeding the budget cap. One of the reasons for that at the time, their defense was, was the high cost of catering.