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Red Bull boss Christian Horner addressed suggestions of the team favoring Max Verstappen in car development by claiming that the team just tries to make the 'fastest car' possible. From there, Horner believes it is on the driver to 'adjust' and 'extract' what they can from the car.
Throughout the driver's stay at the team, multiple teammates have talked about how it was tough to adapt their driving style to the car. The first teammate who truly struggled to keep up with Verstappen was Pierre Gasly in 2019.
The Frenchman just couldn't keep up with his teammate and as a result, was swapped midway through the season. Since then Max has teamed up with various drivers at Red Bull but the apparent issue seems to have persisted.
Alex Albon recently talked about how it was hard for him to adapt to Red Bull, while also talking about Max Verstappen's 'unique' driving style. Even Sergio Perez has claimed that the car development, at times, didn't suit him at Red Bull.
Horner was questioned about this, to which he claimed that the team's focus is on building the fastest car, and not 'one route or another'. On the Sky Sports podcast, he said (h/t PlanetF1):
“Of course they are different, but we just develop the fastest car that we can and it’s the drivers extract and adapt and get the most out of it. We’re not developing in one route or another, we develop a car to be the most competitive car that we can.
"And then of course, it’s down to the drivers to what can they extract out of it and how they adjust their style and nuances accordingly.”
Max Verstappen's teammate claims car development direction doesn't suit him
Max Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez claimed that the car development through the season has often not suited him, which is why he has had to modify his driving style to get the best out of the situation.
Talking to Sky F1 in August, via the aforementioned source, Perez touched on this topic and said:
“For a driver, it’s really difficult to be adapting to the car instead of just things coming naturally. The last few races, I’ve been a step or two behind and always thinking consciously how I have to drive the car, sometimes with how the car has been developed doesn’t really suit me as much so I have to work harder for it.”
Regardless of whether the car suits one driver or the other, it's safe to say that the level at which Max Verstappen can drive the Red Bull is not easy to attain. He finished this season with a record 19 wins and 575 points in the Drivers World Championship.
