Red Bull F1’s Adrian Newey thinks Max Verstappen’s reaction time and car control, who won his second F1 world championship in 2022, are “really great”.
Max Verstappen won the F1 Japan GP held at Suzuka Circuit and achieved the second consecutive victory of the F1 World Champion while watching Honda.
Max Verstappen’s title win and Red Bull’s 14 wins from 18 races mean the Red Bull RB18 has become Adrian Newey’s most successful F1 car. This is an impressive feat for a designer who has made records with machines like Williams’ FW14B and McLaren MP4/13.
Adrian Newey, who has worked with F1 world champions such as Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel, won the title with Max Verstappen driving Newey’s car I was asked for my opinion on where I fit in among the drivers.
“Ranking them is very unfair. I think the biggest thing is how different they are – the strengths of their individual characters,” said Newey.
“The thing I can say regarding Max is his speed of reaction. His control of the car is really good. I think we saw him move on the outside of Charles Leclerc in Japan.”
“Charles might actually have a better start in Turns 1 and 2. It was amazing commitment and control. That’s what makes him so special.”
But one of this year’s race wins that impressed Adrian Newey wasn’t the Japanese Grand Prix. He raised the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix that demanded more than speed and aggression.
“For me, his standout race this year is Hungary,” Newey said.
“He had a broken crankshaft problem in the pitlane, so he was 10th on the grid. He had a problem with the clutch, so be patient with him not to use DRS for many laps to control the clutch. He did it with total perseverance, without resistance, and then when we needed to push him, he was completely calm.”
With Verstappen looking to improve on an already impressive 2021 season, Adrian Newey points out that last year’s title win has given Verstappen confidence in himself.
“I think part of it is the relief of winning his first championship, maybe he doesn’t feel like he has to prove himself like he did last year,” said Newey. .
“He’s definitely… I mean, he’s very young, he just turned 25, and he’s learning all the time.”
“Maturity comes anyway, but I think winning the championship last year took some of the weight off of it. In this year’s race, when he wasn’t at the front, he showed real perseverance. I have a lot of respect for him for making a big step forward and maybe two years ago he wouldn’t have done it.”
Max Verstappen has impressed Red Bull Racing this season with his perseverance and maturity, a sentiment that team principal Christian Horner has echoed many times this season.
Speaking to F1 Nation’s podcast following the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing chief engineer Paul Monaghan said Max Verstappen had calmed down. This has never happened before.
“From my observation, and this is just my personal opinion, I’ve seen Max feel more confident in his performance,” said Monahan.
“Disappointments like Bahrain and Australia didn’t drive him crazy. You might see a composure in him that hasn’t always been the case in the past. Last year was a tumultuous season with Lewis and he held on until the end. fought”
“This year, in the face of adversity, he showed an incredible level of skill and confidence.
“So I’ve seen Max driving more mature than I’ve ever seen. Last year was great, but this year there was composure and confidence.”
Category: F1 / red bull / Max Verstappen
