"Krone" interview

Berger: “Max is best at squeezing the lemon”

Gerhard Berger with Max Verstappen

(Bild: GEPA)

Austria's ten-time GP winner Gerhard Berger believes he will get a very clear overall picture of the balance of power on Sunday in Barcelona. The bottom line is that he sees Red Bull's Verstappen ahead, but ...

"Krone": The top of Formula 1 is getting closer and closer together. This weekend, Barcelona is on the agenda, where it is always emphasized that the hierarchy will be clear for the rest of the season. Do you agree with that?
Gerhard Berger: Barcelona is a good indicator, it really gives you a meaningful overall picture. I think the race there will show that Red Bull still has a bit of an advantage. A track with fast corners should still be tailor-made for the "bulls".

Max Verstappen

(Bild: Getty Images/APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/CLIVE ROSE)

Recently at the Grand Prix in Canada - perhaps also because the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is not a permanent race track - there was a lot going on at the front. How do you rate the current balance of power?
The Red Bull team did a lot of things right in Montreal. They also had another Max Verstappen, who showed that he is still the best at squeezing the lemon thanks to his skill and now also his experience. And when I look at his in-lap, i.e. the lap for the pit stop, and the tire change, I realize that everything just works perfectly. And those are the few percent that really matter.

A lot of praise from a ten-time Grand Prix winner...
Red Bull is simply still insanely fast, but of course not quite as superior as in the last two years - and as I said, Max is the measure of all things.

You drove for McLaren from 1990 to 1992, you know the team very well. Now they're really picking up steam. How do you rate the Papayas?
McLaren is perhaps the most consistent team at the moment, you can really feel that something is going on there. When you walk past the Motorhome, you immediately notice the joy that radiates from there. They have had a long dry spell, Lewis Hamilton won the last world championship title in 2008. But now both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are really delivering. The two of them work great as a team.

Lando Norris

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Your heart team is Ferrari, of course. Victory in Monaco by Charles Leclerc, then in no man's land in Canada - how is that possible?
If you want to win a world championship, you shouldn't really have races like that very often. But it can happen if the simulator data simply doesn't correlate with the data on the track. Nevertheless, Ferrari has the most powerful engine and a car that drives well over the kerbs. Let's wait and see in Barcelona.

And then Mercedes suddenly appeared at the front again ...
It's great when three or four teams are competing for victory. And you saw in Canada what potential there is in Mercedes too. They are definitely on the right track.

Gerhard Berger

(Bild: Krone.at)

So the bottom line is what exactly?
At Red Bull there is also tension due to the external turbulence. It's also a question of wear and tear after years of dominance. Now we have to show that the team is a unit. But I'm pleased that they are still a winning team, but have to fight for their successes. And McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes are making Formula 1 really exciting again for us spectators. I and the Formula 1 fans are really looking forward to the race in Barcelona.