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Max Verstappen believes Red Bull will be weaker at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix due to kerb struggles.
Red Bull struggled with Monaco’s bumpy surface, exposing weaknesses (Image Credit: Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)The rough surface on the streets of Monte Carlo exposed Red Bull’s main weakness. The RB20’s chassis is not great with riding over kerbs. Qualifying proved the issue, with Verstappen qualifying sixth and Sergio Perez getting knocked out in Q1.
Due to the recent struggles in Monaco, it has resulted in the assumption of the Austrian team also struggling in Montreal. The circuit has chicanes, where the kerb is needed to be attacked to gain maximum lap time.
Another factor is that it is a street circuit. Therefore, despite it recently being resurfaced, the surface will not be as good as a traditional track.
Montreal may give surprises
With it being a street circuit, Verstappen believes any bumpiness will result in the team losing relative performance. However, the Dutchman also reckons with the track recently being resurfaced that it may result in some surprises.
“We have to wait and see [how we’ll perform in Canada], new surface as well I think, that might also give us some surprises,” the 26-year-old said.
However, the three-time world champion was clear that the kerbs will be a factor in how the team performs this weekend:
“But it is probably also not going to be our strongest weekend because of that. But probably a little bit better than [Monaco].
“[We’ll be weaker at] any track that is bumpy or has kerbs, or you have to ride a lot of kerbs, so the street circuits will probably be a little bit tricky. But hopefully by then we have a little bit of understanding of what is going on.”
Verstappen was also under pressure in Imola, narrowly taking the race win (Image Credit: Joe Portlock – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)Horner more optimistic
The Red Bull boss counteracted Verstappen’s comments, saying that Red Bull have historically performed well at Montreal. The Briton hopes that they can learn from what happened in Monaco to better prepare for this weekend.
Verstappen has won the past two Canadian Grands Prix. However, teams, such as Ferrari and McLaren, have closed the gap significantly compared to the past two years.
“It’s a track that we’ve performed well at previously. They’ve resurfaced the whole circuit again. So let’s see,” Horner said.
“But Ferrari, McLaren, they’re quick. It was always going to happen that there was going to be convergence. This has been a tough weekend, but we’re still leading both championships.”
Red bull advisor Helmut marko believes that the issue is between the simulator and real life. The Austrian says that the virtual set-ups was good over kerbs, which is the complete opposite to real-life.
Marko believes that Red Bull may return to their dominance in Barcelona in June, where the traditional circuits provide a smooth surface.
Despite the recent struggles Verstappen and Red Bull are still currently first in their respective championships.
Feature Image Credit: Mark Thompson via Getty Images