Max Verstappen has conceded Red Bull are worried about the threat posed to them by Ferrari as they prepare to bring a sizeable upgrade to Imola for the Formula 1 2024 Emilia Romagna GP.
The Scuderia will be hoping to close the gap at the front by a few tenths, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz set to be fitted with modifications to the vertical inlet and sidepods on the SF-24 car.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko already confirmed the team will be bringing their own upgrades to Imola as they try to fend off the challenge from the Italian manufacturer, who sit 52 points behind them in the constructors’ standings after six races.
But Verstappen, who was denied a race victory when finishing the race for the first time this season at the Miami GP, believes their rivals are closing in with every new upgrade and admits Red Bull cannot guarantee they are the quickest car on the grid.
“There are more people coming up. Ferrari, for example, they come with a big, big upgrade. So at the moment, it’s very difficult to know where we are going to be,” Verstappen told select members of the press, including Total-Motorsport.com.
When asked if Red Bull had responded to McLaren and Ferrari’s upgrades by introducing their own, Verstappen dismissed the idea that it was a knee-jerk reaction: “These things are already planned out for a long time. It’s not like one team comes with upgrades and we’re like, ‘oh, we need to put something together’. It’s literally already in the pipeline,” the Red Bull star added.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
Verstappen: Red Bull can’t rest on laurels
Verstappen complained the radio for the majority of the weekend in Miami and his comments would have been noted as McLaren’s Lando Norris finished ahead of him, interestingly putting in faster laps than Verstappen.
The three-time world champion says he is content with the changes made to their RB20 car in time for the race in Italy, but urged his team to continue finding improvements this season to keep Ferrari and McLaren at bay.
“We are happy with it [the upgrade], but naturally you have to keep on pushing because the team [Ferrari] is behind us. They [Ferrari and McLaren] are definitely catching up. As you could see in Miami when we don’t get things like 100% right, they are ahead and we have to try and make sure that we don’t have too many of those weekends,” Verstappen added.
“McLaren came with a really big upgrade. I guess we will only find out here how good that upgrade is going to be because it always takes a bit of time to fully get on top of things.
‘But we knew that, it’s a little detail that can make quite a big difference in terms of time sometimes. And I think especially on a track like Miami, everything is very sensitive, it’s very hot, so a bit too much sliding here and there.”
