Max Verstappen feels Red Bull's 'race pace advantage' can withstand the threat of new upgrades from rivals

Max Verstappen feels Red Bull's race pace advantage means the team should continue to hold its own even if rivals bring their major upgrade package in Imola.

The race in Imola will kickstart the European segment of the calendar and more often than not it is during time of the calendar that teams bring major upgrades to the car.

Competitors like Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin are already scheduled to bring major upgrades to the car in Imola. There have even been rumors that Mercedes is looking at a car that would be 80% different with the upgrade package.

Having said that, Red Bull on the other hand can't bring much because of a compromised development time for the team. The team winning the championship last season and being slapped with the cost cap penalty has is looking at a severe handicap when it comes to car development.

Max Verstappen, however, is not too bothered as the Red Bull driver feels the advantage that the team enjoys is not in danger for now. Talking about the potential of teams bringing major upgrades to the cars in Imola, Verstappen said:

"I mean, I think we have a decent advantage, especially in the race. I think over one lap in some tracks, definitely some cars will be close or in front, like you could see in Baku."

"But yeah, that race pace advantage, I think is quite big at the moment. But yeah, it's not like, the others are bringing new bits and we're just standing still right. So hopefully we can just keep it going like we're doing now."

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Max Verstappen pinpoints the stint on hard tires being pivotal to his win

Max Verstappen felt that his stint on hard tires was what ultimately helped him secure the win. The Red Bull driver was able to close the gap to Perez and when the Mexican pitted, Verstappen maintained the gap until his stop for fresh medium tires.

Looking back at the race, Max Verstappen said:

"Yeah, it was a good race. I mean, I stayed out of trouble at the beginning. And then yeah, just had a clean race, you know, picked the cars off one by one. And then I could stay out really long on the Hard tyres and that's where I think we made the difference today."

"And yeah, then a good little battle with Checo at the end. So we all kept it clean. And that's the most important and yeah, a great win today."

Max Verstappen has now won three of the five races this season and is back in the driving seat in the championship battle.