RED BULL: “WE HAVE A BOOST UPGRADE IN A SHORT TIME”

Christian Horner says Red Bull is working to reduce the backlog behind Ferrari and Mercedes, and claims to have upgrades to improve the RB15 chassis in the short term.

Red Bull has made its best edition so far in China. They finished fourth with Verstappen and sixth with Pierre Gasley. But this result does not mean that they are satisfied, they will be satisfied only when will reach Ferrari and Mercedes. In that sense, a team from Milton Keynes is already preparing an upgrade for improvements in a short period of time.

“We made a big step forward with the chassis. Honda has progressed in the direction. But we still need to find out what differs us from the car in front of us – but we have things (upgrades) that should help us in the near future, “explains Horner.

Red Bull’s chief claims that his team has benefited from Ferrari’s poor strategy, although the Maranello team had better performance.

“Our good strategy has helped us take the place in front of Ferrari (Charles Leclerc). They were probably a bit faster in the race, but I think the strategy has brought us to that position, “he admitted.

“Max (Verstappen) drove perfectly all afternoon and it was good that Pierre eventually took Sebastian (Vettel) the fastest lap,” he added.

Max Verstappen is also aware of the lack of performance that RB15 has. Like Horner, he points out that the strategy was an adversary in the fight against Ferrari.

“I pressed to try to keep up the pace. As a team, we did a good job with Ferrari and we tried to stay ahead. To be honest, we get the best possible result, “says Max.

“Every weekend is a bit of a lottery to guess how competitive you are. I had a good battle with Seb (Vettel), but I did not have the pace to fight, “he added.

The Dutchman is self-critical and optimistic about the future of his team, hoping that the upgrades to the RB15 will put him in a more favorable position.

“We do not have enough speed at the moment. This is a very long season and we hope that the upgrades will help us in the fight. “

Verstappen claims Red Bull and Honda will bring improvements to Baku. The Japanese manufacturer should boost its drive unit by 20 horsepower.

“I know that there will be something new in the car and the car, but great improvements will come a little later,” concluded Verstappen.