Max Verstappen accuses Red Bull’s rivals of ‘trying to slow us down’ by complaining about their flexi-wing and insists his car is ‘within the rules’… as he tips Mercedes to bounce back in Baku after dismal race in Monaco
- Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has hit back at criticism of the team’s flexi-wing
- The Dutchman believes the F1 team’s rivals are only trying to ‘slow us down’
- Verstappen insists his car is ‘within the rules’ ahead of tests on illegal movement
Max Verstappen hit back at Red Bull’s rivals after complaining about their use of flexi-wings, insisting his car is ‘within the rules’.
A number of teams have been criticised over how much their rear wing bends, which could provide a small performance advantage in races, with the FIA now introducing tests to put a halt to illegal movement.
However, the tests won’t come into force until after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, meaning Verstappen’s car will not require any modifications at the race.
Red Bull star Max Verstappen has dismissed criticism of his team over their use of flexi-wings
The FIA are set to introduce tests in the coming weeks to clamp down on illegal movement
But the Dutchman believes teams complaining about Red Bull’s wing movement are simply ‘trying to slow us down’ – stressing that there is ‘nothing wrong’ with his car.
‘I can understand of course other people looking into things when we are doing a good job with the car this season,’ Verstappen said, speaking to Sky Sports.
‘I can understand people complaining… but it’s all within the rules so far. There’s nothing wrong with it.’
He added: ‘Of course, they try to slow us down.’
‘I think you have to look at the overall picture, the most important and dominant part of the car is the front and we are not flexing as much as other teams there.’
But the Dutchman insists his car is ‘within the rules’ and rivals were trying to slow him down
Verstappen is currently top of the drivers’ standings with 105 points – edging ahead of his Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton after winning the Monaco Grand Prix, while the Brit could only finish a disappointing seventh.
‘Of course we always try to target the season we are having at the moment,’ he said.
‘It’s very nice after Monaco, winning the race and obviously leading the championship. But we want to be leading the championship after the final race, that’s the most important.
‘It’s a good boost for the team and we are very happy but we have to keep pushing, because Mercedes might have had a difficult Monaco GP but they are still very quick. We’ll see this weekend what they’re going to do.’
He backed Mercedes to bounce back quickly despite a disastrous showing last time out that also saw Valtteri Bottas forced to retire after a pit-stop error – when his team were unable to remove his front right wheel.
He believes Lewis Hamilton (R) and Mercedes will come back stronger after a poor Monaco GP
Verstappen feels the Monaco race ‘never suited them’ but tipped them to do well in Azerbaijan
Verstappen feels the Monaco race ‘never suited them’ due to their long wheel base but expects the team to be strong in Baku and for the remainder of the season.
‘Because they still have a very good car,’ he said when asked why he was backing them in Baku this weekend.
‘Monaco never really suited them, they have a very long wheel base that is not amazing round there but overall for the rest of the season it seems like it’s quite a strong tool.
‘They have been winning a lot of championships so they know what they have to do and I really expect them to bounce back strong ‘