The team effort behind the progress
Behind this step forward is a strong team effort, beginning with Max Verstappen’s feedback and reaching people who are now more willing to listen to his insights. “We managed to make all the updates work. Max plays a key role in technical discussions due to his experience. The engineers have started listening to him more instead of relying solely on the data. As a result, Max feels more confident behind the wheel and is able to push harder,” Helmut Marko recently told Formula 1 Magazine.
Inspired by Adrian Newey
This approach and mindset are very much Adrian Newey’s “crusade,” and it is possible that Red Bull’s performance decline after his departure was linked to a lack of this critical spirit. “People look too much at the data and don’t listen enough to what the driver has to say, which is the most sensitive element. Data tells you what the car is doing, but not why it’s doing it, whereas the guys in the cockpit have much more intuition. They control the car as they like and often don’t even know exactly how they do it. They can’t describe their driving style well, so you have to ask the right questions afterwards,” an engineer said on the James Allen on F1 podcast. “Teams are constantly growing, but engineers don’t ask themselves enough questions. They believe blindly in what the computer outputs, but if you don’t input the right things, you will never get the correct answers.”
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