Max Verstappen has jokingly demanded Red Bull bring several new upgrades to their car despite dominating Sunday’s 2023 British Grand Prix.
Despite losing the early lead to Lando Norris, Verstappen dominated proceedings taking his 43rd victory of his Formula 1 career and extending his championship lead over Sergio Perez to 99 points.
“Drag, lower speed, medium speed, high speed, DRS effect, tyre wear, that’s what we’re working on,” joked Verstappen when asked what he would like to see improved by Red Bull.
“It wasn’t [a] particularly straightforward [race]. I had a bad start with a lot of wheel spin. So I had to work my way up again to Lando [it] took a few laps.
“Then [it] also took a few laps to cool down the tyres again in the lead. Lando came back at me again in the DRS, but once everything settled, [I] could open up the gap.
“So I guess that was very positive. Everything was working quite well. But it was still quite surprising to see the McLaren was actually that quick.”
Puzzled by intense midfield battle
Although Verstappen cruised to a commanding victory, McLaren stole the headlines after Lando Norris ended his podium drought of over a year with second place ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
It marks a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the Woking-based team, who struggled for form at the start of 2023 before an upgrade package brought forward to the Austrian GP helped Norris fight for podiums.
“It’s very confusing to me, to be honest,” admitted Verstappen. “Because every single race, it’s someone else. It’s just so close behind that.
“If you get your car in a bit of a better window, it works on one particular track. I don’t know what’s going to happen in Hungary, to be honest, who will be quick.
“But yeah, the stable factor so far is every single weekend, we are on top. Which, of course, is the most important from our side, but again, Hungary [is a]completely different track.
“We will put some upgrades on the car there, and hopefully, they will work well.”
