Max Verstappen details Red Bull’s “very big step forward” with major F1 upgrade

Max Verstappen finished second in the Austrian Grand Prix after a significant upgrade for Red Bull resulted in a "very big step forward". 

The four-time champion's Red Bull future came under the spotlight last weekend, after it emerged that he had held secret talks with McLaren over a potential switch, while team principal Laurent Mekies was open that this latest seven-part upgrade would be crucial in Verstappen's decision-making process.

In what was an ultra-competitive qualifying session between the top four teams, Red Bull appeared to have moved at least onto a level with McLaren, but in the race, Verstappen was comfortably ahead of both papaya cars, and the Ferraris, instead battling with the pace-setting Mercedes pairing at the front.

Asked where the remaining deficit to Mercedes is, Verstappen said: "Well, I started fifth. I was closing the gap constantly every stint. So, I don’t know, it’s hard. 

"I mean, I was catching George, Kimi [Antonelli] was catching me. 

"Yes, it was close. We still have some areas, of course, that we want to work on within the car. Like I said, half of the race, I ran a car that was not in top shape. Plus, my brakes today were not really functioning well compared to the rest of the weekend. 

"So that’s something that, of course, you manage, and you learn how to drive with it, but it’s not ideal. So, it’s stuff that we’ll look back at and try to understand. 

"But for us, this has already been a very big step forward compared to the previous races. I mean, look at the last race. In the race, I was just by myself, really not challenging anything. So, on a track where the tyres are deg-ing, that’s a good sign."

The Austrian result was the high-water mark for Verstappen this term, and despite all the noise surrounding a potential Red Bull exit, the Dutchman cut a far more positive figure than has been the case on some occasions in a difficult campaign. 

"I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like I could actually fight for the win," he added.

"I do think that the first half of the race, we were more competitive, because for whatever reason, in the second half, something felt off on the rear of the car, where everything was just extremely difficult, from bumps, kerbs, traction, it was just completely gone. 

"So that’s something that we need to understand again, what went wrong there. But yes, the first half, I felt really good. I mean, I was closing the gap even after the battles that I had with Lewis. It was cool, but it made us, of course, lose quite a bit of time. So yeah, every time catching up. 

"But then in the middle of the second stint, something happened with the car on the rear axle, which made me lose pace, and that just stayed there until the end. So that’s a bit of a shame. 

"But still, to be that close to a win, I think is great effort from the team. They have worked really hard to get these upgrades on the car here, and this is the first time, I think, in the race where I felt really competitive. And I could push a bit more. So that is definitely the positive, I think, of this weekend."