Jacques Villeneuve claims Max Verstappen may not be in the best of mind mentally as he becomes increasingly frustrated with the Red Bull RB22.
The four-time champion got off to a bad start in the Chinese sprint race. Verstappen started from eighth on the grid to 13th after getting into trouble at the start of the race and suffering wheel spin.
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“Honestly, I don’t have much to say right now,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 After the sprint race. “Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It started as a problem that we had to solve, but after that, the balance was all messed up. That’s probably the highest degradation for everyone, it’s out of control.
“Along with some of the other components on the car, I would say, it’s not ready yet. We just have to get our stuff together.”
When asked to what extent Red Bull can turn things around this weekend, Villeneuve told Sky Sports F1: “Not really, because last year they had a car that responded to Max and his driving style.
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“Maybe a little bit off the rhythm, but they can fine-tune it. Now, he’s all over the place. He doesn’t have any feedback. He doesn’t know, he just knows the car can’t drive. He doesn’t know what to do with it, he’s frustrated. So he’s not even in the right mental space.
“So it will be very difficult for the team to make the leap. But the team has changed. They have lost three managers, [Adrian] Newey, [Christian] Horner and Helmut Marko. These are the backbone of the team. So maybe they’re starting to pay the price. “
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick added: “He’s always going to get the best out of himself. I don’t think we’ll ever think that he’s not going to be motivated or that he’s not going to be 100 percent committed. He’s always going to put everything he puts into the track, even if he doesn’t sound that happy to get off the bike.”
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“But it’s frustrating. He’s motivated by success, he’s motivated by winning, and he’s one of the purest racers on the track in terms of his desire to race. We see that in everything else he does. So it’s not fun for him. But equally, when he dominates, it’s not fun for everyone else.
“So, it’s part of the ebb and flow of the sport. But for Red Bull, with the powertrain they developed themselves, with everything they have and the experience, I think they have to really scratch their heads and put something together or they’re not going to keep Max Verstappen next year.”
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