There have only been three losses for Red Bull since the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Waché, claims in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365 that Max Verstappen is largely responsible for the company’s success.
Red Bull’s numbers in recent years have been absurd and might never be topped. From the inaugural race in 2022 to the Australian Grand Prix in 2024, there have been 47 races in total, with Red Bull winning an incredible 40 of them.
Some have called their dominance boring, but many will look back on their brilliance with amazement. Fans are currently nostalgic for the times of Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, and Ross Brawn, but when Red Bull’s dominance is discussed, Max Verstappen, Dr. Helmut Marko, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, and Pierre Wache will also soon be called to mind.
Speaking under the latter moniker, RacingNews365 was the only voice during Australia’s Grand Prix weekend. Of course, it was impossible to ignore Verstappen’s involvement with Red Bull for very long. Red Bull’s technical director is already complimenting the triple world champion’s attributes in his first response.
Wache said, “Max is very fast on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit,” in response to a question regarding the renowned 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. After receiving a grid penalty, Verstappen was forced to start from 14th place, but he still won the race.
Furthermore, the RB18 was a perfect fit for the track. That was the difference in Belgium between those two factors. Because that’s where the issue with the current generation of cars can arise, the fact that there were still a lot of bouncing cars also contributed.
“The tightening of the rules gave us a competitive advantage over the opposition. You can therefore discuss that weekend as a turning point. In fact, at the start of 2022, Ferrari had the fastest vehicle on the track.”
He went on: “At Spa, we were able to fully utilise the car, and at the same time, the FIA tightened regulations regarding the board underneath the vehicle. In the end, that modification provided us with an even bigger advantage over our rivals.
“We were already not suffering as much from porpoising and from that point on the difference between us and Ferrari became even greater.”
To save the floorboard somewhat, the Red Bull drivers were forced to use a lift to pass through the well-known Eau Rouge corner a year later.
When we ask Wache about the incredible action of the Red Bull drivers in 2023, he laughs and says, “They could have gone full throttle through Eau Rouge in 2023, but then the floorboard wouldn’t have been thick enough anymore.”
“Because of the rules, we had to find a compromise and we did that by adjusting the set-up of the car and having the drivers lift through Eau Rouge.”
What Makes Verstappen Special?
Red Bull appears to be the clear favourite to win the world championship in 2024 after recording two consecutive one-two finishes.
This implies that even though Verstappen is only 27 this year, he has a strong chance of taking home a fourth straight championship. What, in Wache’s opinion, distinguishes the Dutchman as a unique driver?
“First of all, he’s Dutch, of course,” Wache replies, laughing, before becoming serious. “He has incredible talent, a passion for racing, and a perfect sense of the car’s limit. I had never worked with a driver who was right on the limit on his first lap until I started with him.
He has a huge advantage because of that, especially because we aren’t allowed to test very often these days. We also benefit when you have a driver who can take the car to its limit right away.”
That’s because it provides you with a benefit.
This is because it provides you with quick insight into the areas of the car that need improvement. This is because you are aware of the car’s limit and, as a result, know where you need to make improvements.”
Wache went on, “He is equally adept at operating the vehicle as the driver is.
“He is an engineer too, just like us, since he never stops searching for ways to make the car better. Like the other players on the team, he never settles for a victory; he always demands more. After a victory, he doesn’t take a break—rather, he keeps going,” Wache said in closing.
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