Ahead of the fourth sprint race of the season, Max Verstappen had already predicted that he would spend most of the race looking in his mirrors, particularly at George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
The four-time world champion proved to be right, although another poor start was not part of the script. Both Verstappen and team-mate Isack Hadjar got away badly, after which the latter made no attempt to hide his frustration.
“Those starts, it’s the same story now, it’s just annoying, guys. I know it’s going to be my fault again, I bet so,” Hadjar said immediately after the race over the team radio.
When he was told that Red Bull is still working on a solution – including simpler procedures for the drivers – Hadjar replied: “Everyone does it, everyone, except us. So…”
When Hadjar faced the media afterwards, his frustration had not eased.
“We can’t get starts. We just don’t understand it,” Hadjar told Dutch broadcaster Viaplay. “There is no point going to a race if you know you’re going to lose four places straight away. In my case, I lost even more than that. It’s shocking, all the time.”
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Liam Fabre
Asked about the underlying cause, Hadjar admitted that Red Bull still does not fully understand all the issues yet: “I don’t know, otherwise I wouldn’t be having these problems. Last year, out of 24 starts, I had 24 good starts.
“Now with these new regulations and the engine, we seem not to understand it. But the thing is that Racing Bulls is doing a way better job than us, so it’s a bit weird.”
Verstappen: Red Bull simply “too slow” at Silverstone
Team-mate Verstappen acknowledged that his poor getaway was not so much related to the Red Bull power unit on this occasion.
“No, just wheelspin this time,” he said. “I dropped the clutch and then you have to wait for grip. That was not ideal, but after that I got myself back into a decent, well, at least normal position.”
Although Verstappen recovered to third place, he was later overtaken by Lando Norris, Russell and Leclerc again.
In his view, it underlined that Red Bull is still lacking pace at a circuit like Silverstone, despite the big upgrade package introduced in Austria.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“You can clearly see that we are just too slow,” he said. “Too slow in slow-speed corners, too slow in high-speed corners and more tyre degradation than the others.”
The sprint race at Silverstone also marked the return of the much-discussed yo-yo racing, but Verstappen has decided not to comment on the current regulations anymore: “That’s how it is on this track. You can overtake on one straight and then you get overtaken again on the next one.
“I’ve decided for myself to not say anything about that anymore.”
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