Red Bull is banking on McLaren's bold car setup at the Brazilian Grand Prix potentially backfiring.
With Interlagos newly resurfaced for 2024, the track's bumps are proving more challenging than ever, according to drivers like championship leader Max Verstappen, who starts P4 in Saturday's sprint. "They've made the track even bumpier," said Verstappen. "Our car doesn't like that at all.
"We're just jumping around, and if we're already this far off on one lap, that's not good for the races."
Adding to his challenge, Verstappen faces a grid penalty due to a new Honda engine. "I've got a lot of work to do," he admitted.
Meanwhile, his father, Jos Verstappen, offered a more blunt assessment of Red Bull's struggles: "Fourth is not good enough. In one corner he has understeer, in the next he's close to oversteer. There is simply no balance in that car. He told me 'the car just doesn't work.'"
Red Bull and Ferrari both hope McLaren's setup gamble may become their advantage. By running the car unusually low to the ground, McLaren boosts lap times but risks underbody damage that could lead to disqualification. "When the McLarens went past, we were treated to a fireworks display," joked Red Bull's Christian Horner.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur agreed, saying, "If everyone ran as low as McLaren did in the practice session, they wouldn't legally make it through the sprint."
Right now, McLaren holds the edge, with Lando Norris in P2 for the sprint, right behind teammate Oscar Piastri.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella made it clear that team orders could be in effect. "Lando is the driver that is in contention for the drivers' championship, so it's natural that we are going to support Lando," he stated. Piastri added, "I've said that I would from when we first had these discussions. It would be nice to win, but it's one point difference, and it's not the main race, so we'll see."
For Red Bull, another potential advantage lies in Norris feeling the heat of the title battle. During a press conference, Norris was visibly frustrated, snapping, "I don't care" and "I hate these questions" when asked about Verstappen's qualifying position.
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers noted, "It was just a normal question from a journalist," while former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos commented, "You can see that Lando is getting very irritated by these questions about Max. He says 'I'm not thinking about Max.' Of course, he's thinking about Max!" Doornbos laughed.
