Villeneuve counters Perez’s Red Bull claim on Max Verstappen

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Villeneuve dismissed the suggestion that Red Bull deliberately favours Verstappen, arguing that the perception exists largely because of the Dutchman’s relentless approach to car development.

“With Red Bull, everybody's been saying, ‘Oh, but the car's made for Max, poor second driver.’ Actually, no, Max is working on it, making the car better,” Villeneuve began.

The Canadian went on to highlight how Verstappen’s ability to understand and develop the car often leaves his team-mates struggling to keep up as the season progresses, a gap that can mistakenly be interpreted as declining performance.

“If you're incapable of driving it or figuring out what the issue is during the season, you'll end up going slower, not because you're actually slower, but because Max will go faster. That's because you're incapable of actually understanding what is going on with the car. So, obviously, they will work with Max, and the car will become undrivable for you,” he added.

Spotlighting former Verstappen team-mate Sergio Perez and how his performance tends to dip throughout the season, he continued:

“We saw it with Perez every year. They would start the season on par, and that was it. Perez didn't start going slower; Max started going faster and faster and faster. Very simple, because he could actually comprehend what was happening with the car,” Villeneuve concluded.

Earlier, Perez had stated that the Red Bull team was well adapted to fit Verstappen, highlighting how any driver who joins the team is destined to struggle alongside the Dutch driver.

The former driver also highlighted the key factor behind Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at Scuderia Ferrari.

The 54-year-old pointed to what he describes as “easy years” at Mercedes as key to compounding the woes he currently faces at the Maranello-based team.

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