“Our next upgrade will be with no sidepods,” Max Verstappen takes a brutal dig at Mercedes for copying RB19 sidepod design

Max Verstappen wants Red Bull to keep striving for more performance output from its car.

“Our next upgrade will be with no sidepods,” Max Verstappen takes a brutal dig at Mercedes for copying RB19 sidepod design

Max Verstappen (Credits: GP Blog) and Lewis Hamilton (Credits: Autosport)

Max Verstappen, the reigning World Champion, has been in red-hot form, taking the 2023 F1 season by storm. Mercedes, after coming up with Red Bull-influenced side pods, did put up some fight in Barcelona, but it was all in vain. Verstappen has taken note of the side pod design and jokingly indicated that his team would now develop a no-side pod design.

Max Verstappen, while shedding light on Mercedes’s side pod ahead of the Canadian GP said, “I think our next upgrade will be with no side pods, then everyone can go back. But it’s not only the sideboards, it’s a lot of things [which] have come together. We learned a lot over the years, and now, with the new regulations, we hit the ground running and understood what was going on.”

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“That helps a lot. Hopefully, we can keep [the] momentum going as everyone is pushing very hard to catch up. From our side, we are never satisfied we always want more.” The Dutchman, on the one hand, has cheekily taken a dig at Mercedes for somewhat copying its side pod design and on the other, has made it clear that despite Red Bull’s dominance, the team will keep pushing on.

The Milton-Keynes-based team has been in a league of its own and has so far bashed its completion with the RB19. The way things have been going for them, several pundits have already predicted that Red Bull would most definitely retain its title during the ongoing 2023 F1 campaign.

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Max Verstappen on track to secure a third consecutive F1 title

Max Verstappen (credits: Sky Sports)
Max Verstappen (credits: Sky Sports)

While Red Bull has dominated its completion in the Constructors Championship, Max Verstappen has also managed to do the same in the Drivers Championship. Sergio Perez, despite having the same machinery, hasn’t been able to match the heroics of the Dutchman in the RB19. Perez has only managed two race victories compared to Verstappen’s five so far in the season.

Moreover, the 25-year-old has amassed 170 points until now, and Sergio Perez only has 117 points to show for his efforts. The 2023 Drivers Championship is expected to be a two-battle. Still, the way Verstappen has been churning in spectacular performances race after race, it is quickly becoming a one-horse race.

The upcoming race is at the famous Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit in Canada, and Max Verstappen would once again try to get the W to stretch his lead at the front. Considering the breathtaking speed and precision he has put forward so far, would Sergio Perez be able to stop the Verstappen hype train in Canada?

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