F1: Verstappen warns Red Bull to ‘keep the team together’

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Thursday in Miami ahead of the Miami GP, Max Verstappen was asked about reports that two key Red Bull Engineers – Peter Wache and Enrico Balboa – were almost poached by Ferrari.

Max Verstappen said he told his Red Bull Formula 1 team that it is important they retain their talented technical team together.

“Well, nothing will influence me until 2028 because I have a contract,” said Verstappen to media, referring to his long-term deal with Red Bull.

“But I am very happy of course that Adrian [Newey] is staying, but that goes for everyone in the team.

“I mean, when you are doing really well, you want to try and keep that whole group together, and of course, that is the target for the team in the future.”

Verstappen on fence with regard to Shortened DRS Zones in Miami

“I would prefer of course that we could race without DRS but that’s not possible,” Verstappen said ahead of the Miami GP Thursday. “I think for us, it’s a little bit different.

“If the car is faster, let’s say when you have to come through the field from the back, it doesn’t really matter how long the zone is, you will get the car ahead.

“But when the pace is one or two tenths [difference], you could see that in Baku, I think once you’re in a bit of a DRS train, there’s no chance. The DRS zone is just not big enough to have a run.

“So what [causes] that? Is the DRS zone too short? Or the cars are not good enough to follow closely? I think it’s a bit of a combination of both.

“The cars are probably too heavy, they’re too stiff, so you can’t really run a curb to try and find a bit of a different line. Everyone is driving more or less the same line nowadays because of just how the cars work and how stiff the suspension is.

“Probably now with people finding more and more downforce in the cars, it probably becomes a bit harder to follow as well.”