Being the two-time reigning Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen was inevitably at the center of attention yesterday in New York, on the day of the presentation of Red Bull and the announcement of the partnership with Ford that will begin in 2026. This is where Max Verstappen started his comments in a recent interview for Motorsport Italy, but the Dutchman then also talked about the expectations for the RB19 and on the development limitations linked to the budget cap penalty his team will have to deal with this year, which however according to him will not have a huge impact. And he also denied having installed a simulator on his private plane.
Here are some of the most important comments from the world champion:
Are you happy to welcome Ford?
Max Verstappen: “Yes, we all know they already have a great history in the sport. And they are also very motivated and committed to the future of Formula 1, so we are very happy to have them on board. And of course we are working towards 2026. It is an important year. So yeah, we’re very excited. They’re great people, they love motorsport and I think that’s also very important.”
What do you expect for next year? Do you think Ferrari and Mercedes will be closer in the second year of the new regulations?
Max Verstappen: “At the moment it’s a bit difficult to say. I don’t know, obviously, what the other teams are doing and how much they are improving. For our part, however, I think the most important thing is to focus on ourselves and work on our car. We know that there are some areas where we would like to improve. And we’ve tried to do that. And hopefully, once the car hits the ground, we can feel it right away.”
The season will start a little earlier than in the last two years: will this affect your preparation?
“Yes, I would say that I probably started my preparation a week earlier as well. So everything has moved forward a bit. But to be honest I think this time it was not a problem, because we had a little more time free in December, which I think was really nice. So once the new year starts, it’s easy to get back to work.”
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Do you have an idea of how much the development limitations you will have to deal with after the budget cap penalty will impact the car?
“I strongly believe in our collaborators in the factory, who can do an extraordinary job in this case as well. And I believe that the most important thing for us is to start immediately on the right foot, and that we are very competitive. And it’s not that we have zero hours, we still have a lot of hours that we can make a difference with. I think we’ll need to be a little more specific about what to do with those hours, but if you have good direction and have a good understanding of what you want to improve on the car, I don’t think it will be a big problem. We have the penalty, so now we have to be very precise in what we do.”
Could it give you more motivation?
“I don’t think there is a need for further motivation, because I think everyone is very motivated.”
What do you expect from Ferrari this season? There has been a change in the management.
Max Verstappen: “It’s difficult to say. I don’t have any understanding of how they are improving the car. I guess time will tell. I mean, they’re an amazing team and there are a lot of great people working there. Of course there was a change, but ultimately I think they had already defined the direction they wanted to work in and wanted to improve the car and the engine department. So I still expect them to continue that path and they will definitely be strong opponents.”
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