VERSTAPPEN: I AM NOT THE NUMBER 1 IN THE RED BULL

Max Verstappen insists he is not Red Bull’s first driver and he thinks he and his team-mate Gasly have equal opportunities.

For Dutch this is fourth season in Red Bull, while Gasly just came to the senior team. However, there is a big difference in the results achieved so far.

Verstappen began the season with a pedestal in Australia, after which he finished in fourth place in three races. Gasly next to her name has the best achievement – the sixth place in China.

Although the drivers of the Milton Keynes team split the 38 points advantage, Verstappen insists that he hasen’t Red Bull’s first driver status.

“I do not see myself as the first driver (in Red Bull) and nobody mentioned it in the team,” says Max.

“We both get equal opportunities and I’m just doing what I did last year – giving real feedback to the team, and then on the team to bring in new parts.”

“So, on my part, not much has changed, of course it has gained experience. I would make a mistake to change something. That would mean that you did not do the right things a year ago,” he adds.

While Mercedes finished in the first and second positions in four consecutive races, Red Bull has only one stand. Because of this, Verstappen admits that the whole package (bolid) needs to be improved.

“We need to improve our maximum speed, what we know. But it’s not just that, it’s a complete car. We started well, but not good enough to make a difference,” explained the Dutchman.

“We continue to work hard on it (the car). The upgrades are coming for the next race (Spain) and then we will see how the rest of the season will progress.”

The 21-year-old driver thinks Mercedes has started well, but he thinks they were lucky in Bahrain and look better than they are.

“Mercedes had a great start. They also had luck in Bahrain with Ferrari (Leclerc) who had problems. They look a little better than they actually are. They did not make any mistakes and that’s why they won so many points,” said Max Verstappen.