Being the two-time reigning world champion, Max Verstappen was inevitably at the center of the scene today in New York, on the day of the presentation of Red Bull and the announcement of the partnership with Ford that will begin in 2026. This is where he started from the Dutch rider with his comments, but then he also lingered on the expectations on the RB19 and on the development limitations linked to the budget cap penalty his team will have to deal with this year, which however according to him will not have an impact decisive. And he denied having installed a simulator on his private plane …
Are you happy to welcome Ford?
“Yes, we all know he already has a great history in the sport. And they are also very motivated and committed to the future of Formula 1, so we are very happy to have them on board. And of course we are working towards 2026. It is an important year So yeah, we’re very excited. They’re great people, they love motorsport and I think that’s also very important.”
What do you expect for next year? Do you think Ferrari and Mercedes will be closer in the second year of the new regulation?
“At the moment it’s a bit difficult to say. I don’t know, obviously, what the other teams are doing and how much they are improving. For our part, however, I think the most important thing is to focus on ourselves and work on our car. We know that there are some areas where we would like to improve. And we’ve tried to do that. And hopefully, once the car hits the ground, we can feel it right away.”
The season will start a little earlier than in the last two years: will this affect your preparation?
“Yes, I would say that I probably started my preparation a week earlier as well. So everything has moved forward a bit. But to be honest I think this time it was not a problem, because we had a little more time free in December, which I think was really nice. So once the new year starts, it’s easy to get back to work.”
You have done a deal with EA Sports: will you work with them on the games or is it just a strategic partnership?
“Well, I have a lot of ideas, which I still have to talk to them about. But in the beginning, of course, it will be more about covers and stuff. But I know that EA does many types of games. racing simulation, but I also enjoy doing other kinds of things. He’s a perfect partner to work with, so I’m very excited to work with them.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Helmut Marko talked about installing a simulator on your private plane. It is true?
“No, he misunderstood because I told him I was going to put a simulator in my camper. And I think he misunderstood and mentioned the plane. No, I don’t have a plane in mind, but I will have it in my camper and in the evening , even during an F1 weekend or whatever, I could spend two or three hours on the simulator.”
What are your expectations for the RB19 and when will you ride it for the first time?
“Yes, at the moment I’ve only been driving in the simulator. And of course the sensations are good. There are only three days of testing, everything has to be very smooth, we have to do a lot of kilometers with the car and understand all the potential small inconveniences that can happen. Also last year we had some fantastic testing, we rode a lot and then the first few races we had problems. It’s about trying to understand what’s going on with the car and we don’t know what the others are doing. We just have to keep working. try to define performance”.
How different is the RB19 from the RB18?
“I think there are still many different things about the car. Of course, not today, it was just a livery. But you will definitely see some different things. Of course, we know that our philosophy worked quite well last year, so it would be stupid to suddenly try completely different things. But we always want to do better. And we always look at opportunities where we can improve the car, also based on what we understood last year.”
Is there one aspect in particular that you would like to see improved over the RB18?
“We know that last year the main issue was the weight of the car, which was excessive. That’s our goal for this year: to make sure it’s not the same, and we’re confident that will be fixed. And then we there are many other things we want to work on. I can’t go into too much detail, of course, on what exactly they are. But I think it’s the same thing I try to work on: as a driver you always try to look at yourself, what you can do better? And you try to come back stronger every year, even if sometimes it’s a difficult task. But it’s the same approach that, after all, you also have with the car”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Do you have an idea of how much the development limitations you will have to deal with after the budget cap penalty will impact?
“I strongly believe in our collaborators in the factory, who can do an extraordinary job in this case as well. And I believe that the most important thing for us is to start immediately on the right foot, and that we are very competitive. And it’s not that we have zero hours , we still have a lot of hours that we can make a difference in. I think we’ll need to be a little more specific about what to do with those hours, but if you have good direction and have a good understanding of what you want to improve on the car, I don’t think it will be a big problem. We have the penalty, so now we have to be very precise in what we do.”
Could it give you more motivation?
“I don’t think there is a need for further motivation, because I think everyone is very motivated.”
After it has changed its management, what do you expect from Ferrari?
“It’s hard to say. I have no idea how they are improving the car. I think time will tell. They are an amazing team. They also have a lot of fantastic people working there. Of course, there has been a change, but At the end of the day I think they had already defined the direction they wanted to work in and they wanted to improve the car and the engine department, so I expect them to continue on this path and are certainly strong opponents.
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