The Red Bull appears to be an untamable car in the hands of Max Verstappen, who seems to be the only one capable of performing at the wheel of the car. A nervous, aggressive, abrupt car… that is only tamed in the hands of the four-time world champion. This is nothing new, far from it, for the management of the energy drinks team, as they know that the RB21 (like the RB20, the RB19, the RB18…) has been specifically designed for the demands and driving style of Verstappen.
During Max Verstappen’s time at Red Bull, the Dutchman has had six teammates: Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Pérez, Liam Lawson and now Yuki Tsunoda. The only ones who could get close to his pace and control the Red Bull cars were Checo and Ricciardo, the others suffered a lot in the team. Checo Pérez has been with the team the longest, four years and 100 GPs.
Due to his performance in the RB20, Pérez took all the criticism, but now with the problems with Liam Lawson and his exchange with Yuki Tsunoda after two races, it makes one reconsider the responsibilities between drivers and team.
Alex Albon confesses the complications of driving a Red Bull
Alex Albon spoke about how complicated it is to drive the Red Bull: “A lot of people say that the car is made for him (Verstappen), honestly, the car is what it is. He is very fast, so what ends up happening is that he has a rather unique driving style really”.
He later explained: “Everyone has a driving style, I would say that my style is a little softer, but I like the car to have a good front end, sharp and direct. Max does that too, but his level of sharpness and directness is on a completely different level of acuity. To give people an explanation of what it feels like, if you increase the sensitivity to the maximum (in a video game) and move the mouse, it slides all over the screen, that’s what it feels like. It becomes so aggressive, it makes you a little tense.
On the large number of accidents suffered by Max’s teammates, Albon revealed: “As the season progresses, Max wanted that front end on the car to be more stable and as it adjusts more and more, the car goes faster and faster, and in order for you to catch up, you have to start taking more risks.”