The team dressed in blue has achieved a consecutive one-two finish in the first two races of the season. Verstappen emerged victorious in both races, with Perez following closely behind. Red Bull can consider their mission accomplished, as despite his efforts, the Mexican driver has been unable to surpass his Dutch counterpart since their encounter in Baku last year.
Since then, Perez has consistently lagged behind Verstappen by approximately three-tenths of a second in qualifying pace, and potentially even more in race pace. This trend continued at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which marked the start of the season, and was evident once again in Saudi Arabia a week later.
So, what sets these two drivers apart? The most qualified individual to provide an answer is Marko, who has made some insightful observations about Verstappen and Perez and their distinct styles. In his post-Saudi GP column on Speedweek, Marko stated, “Jeddah is a track that Checo really enjoys. He has secured pole position here for the past two years and emerged victorious last year, only missing out on the win due to an untimely deployment of the safety car.”
“This year, Checo is no longer experimenting,” revealed Marko, implying that the experienced Mexican driver had engaged in trial and error in the past. “He now starts with a similar basic setup to Max’s. The differences lie in the nuances of their respective setups.”
“Checo used to excel with cars that were well-behaved. However, well-behaved cars are seldom fast. In 2022, he realized that our car was overweight. This resulted in a more docile nature, with increased understeer and a stable rear end.”
“However, it wasn’t fast. In fact, Ferrari was faster in the first half of the season. It was only through strategic decisions and driving errors from Leclerc that the tide turned in our favor. Now, our car is undeniably fast.”
“Max possesses an extraordinary talent that enables him to handle a car with a twitchy rear end better than anyone else, and that is what makes the difference,” explained Marko.
Reflecting on the weekend in Saudi Arabia, the Red Bull consultant added, “Last week, I expressed concerns that Red Bull Racing could encounter greater difficulties in Jeddah compared to the season opener in Bahrain, and to some extent, this proved to be true. Max’s exceptional qualifying lap, which gave him a three-tenths advantage over Leclerc, somewhat overshadowed this.”
Indeed, Verstappen dazzled in Jeddah, securing his 34th pole position start and cruising to his 56th Grand Prix victory on Saturday night, comfortably ahead of teammate Perez in second place.
However, Marko emphasized that it wasn’t all smooth sailing: “We struggled with the hard tires during the race. They took longer to warm up, and when Max encountered traffic and lost tire temperature, he faced difficulties.”
“Our biggest advantage in Bahrain was the ease with which our car managed its tires. This advantage was less pronounced in Jeddah,” added Marko, despite Verstappen ultimately winning the race with a 13-second lead over Perez and an 18-second lead over Charles Leclerc in third place for Ferrari, who was the best of the rest.
To read Marko’s insights on the B-Team drivers, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, and their fortunes in Jeddah, click here>>>