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“It’s That Simple” – Verstappen Gives His Solution to Counter Mercedes’ Threat

Published 05/10/2021, 3:39 AM EDT

The Spanish Grand Prix was a fine display of Mercedes’ pace and strategic superiority. Although he got ahead in the first lap, Max Verstappen struggled to keep Lewis Hamilton at bay. The turning point, however, came in Lap 41; a pit stop for a new set of medium tires allowed the Briton to gain that extra pace on Max before ultimately passing him in Lap 60.

Red Bull hurt Verstappen’s chances by not responding to Mercedes’ strategy, which left him in second place with the fastest lap of the race. The Dutchman believes that although there has been an improvement, the car needs to be faster to pose a tougher challenge.

Max Verstappen: We are not where we want to be

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While the team improved this weekend as compared to last year’s Barcelona outing, Verstappen feels the team still have a lot of work to do. Having 80 points from four races so far, he’s currently 14 points behind Hamilton, whom fans voted the ‘Driver of the Day’ on Sunday.

The Dutchman said, “It shows that we are not there where we want to be. We still have to push hard and catch up because at the moment we are a little bit slower. But still nevertheless, compared to last year it has been a big jump forwards for us.”

While Verstappen is competing for race wins, his teammate Sergio Perez is far from that battle at the moment. Red Bull‘s challenge needs the Mexican to be involved in the battle at the front week in, week out. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Spanish GP: ‘Sitting Duck’ Max Verstappen Could Foresee Lewis Hamilton Overtaking Him After His Pit-Stop

Verstappen: Just need a faster car

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Max has made his wishes clear: a faster car to challenge Mercedes. He believes a faster car can counter the threat that Mercedes pose currently.

The 23-year-old said, ” Just need a faster car. It’s very simple. Then you don’t need to get into a situation like that. That’s what we have to focus on.”

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With the Monaco Grand Prix coming up, Red Bull have an excellent opportunity to close the gap.

Can Max and ‘Checo’ take the fight to Mercedes in the streets of Monaco?

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Written by:

Sanket Nair is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. A Sports Management student, he is a huge fan of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo and hopes to see Red Bull break Mercedes' dominance and win the World Championship soon. Sanket has been hooked to the sport ever since he watched the battle for the 2010 World Championship go down to the wire at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“It’s That Simple” – Verstappen Gives His Solution to Counter Mercedes’ Threat

Max Verstappen: We are not where we want to be

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Verstappen: Just need a faster car