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MAX Verstappen has conceded Red Bull’s days of dominance are ‘behind’ them as he was unable to challenge for Belgian Grand Prix victory after starting P11 due to his grid penalty.
Instead, the Red Bull man came home fifth but crucially finished ahead of championship rival Lando Norris – with both of them inheriting a further place post-race following George Russell’s disqualification. That meant Verstappen’s championship lead actually increased, with the Dutchman now 80 points ahead of Norris as F1 enters its traditional mid-season break.
But while Verstappen was pleased with some parts of his day, he sounded slightly more melancholic as he rued days gone by, when recovering from lowly grid slots was an easier prospect.
“The race itself was not too bad, it was just very difficult to pass,” Verstappen said.
“The first stint, I stayed out of trouble the first few laps, got into that DRS train and basically just stayed there. Then we tried to do a nice undercut which I think worked quite well, but the cars are all very similar in pace and then it’s just very difficult to move up.
“So, I think from P11 we did a good job.
“I think looking at the championship it was a positive day for me. Of course you want more, but with our pace in the last few races, it’s not realistic to think we can go P11 all the way to the front again. Those days are behind, unfortunately.
“But we have plenty of things to analyse over the break and see if we can improve the car starting already in Zandvoort.”
Verstappen heads to his home race next time out without a win since Spain, and with a car that is no longer the class of the field. On paper the McLaren is every bit as quick if not quicker, and Mercedes seem to have a car which is in the mix on race pace – and that comes after Ferrari’s strong start to the season.
With Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Norris, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and Russell all picking up wins this season, Verstappen is well aware that he is fortunate that points are being shared amongst his rivals – something that is very much aiding his bid for a fourth straight world title.
“Luckily it’s changing a little bit, so it’s not one particular team that is taking points away but, we know we have a bit of work to do, we want to do better and we’ll see what we can do,” were the final words from the Dutchman, before he headed off for a well-deserved holiday.
The summer break means Verstappen has a chance to regroup before heading to Zandvoort with the pressure very much on Red Bull to bounce back from their win-less run.
