Max Verstappen:

“Yes, to be honest, I believe that”

Max Verstappen

(Bild: AP)

After difficult months with many disappointments, Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen expects an improvement in the final sprint of the season. "Yes, to be honest, I think so," the Dutchman replied in an interview with the specialist portal Autosport when asked whether the worst is over for him and his struggling Red Bull team.

"Hopefully we can continue to make good progress from here," said the 27-year-old ahead of the race in Austin in two weeks' time.

Although Verstappen continues to lead the overall standings on the way to his fourth consecutive world championship title, the pressure from rival Lando Norris is enormous. The three-time champion is only 52 points ahead of the Briton in the McLaren, with six races of the season still to go. Verstappen has not won since June.

Wrong direction
"At some point, we took a wrong turn," said Verstappen about the problems with his car. "The other teams either haven't reached that point yet or have developed the car slightly differently." That is difficult to assess.

However, the dominator of recent years believes that a turning point has been reached. The technical improvements to the car at the penultimate Grand Prix in Baku were a good first step. "I am convinced that we are moving in the right direction. But that takes time. You can't turn something like this around in one or two weeks," he said. Red Bull is also expected to further improve the car with an update package at the upcoming world championship race in the USA.