Verstappen feels he "should have won" Saudi F1 GP without reliability issues

Max Verstappen feels he would have won Formula 1's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix without Red Bull's driveshaft problems.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

A driveshaft failure in qualifying at Jeddah meant Verstappen had to start the race from 15th place.

He used Red Bull's impressive pace advantage to finish second behind team-mate Sergio Perez, beating the Mexican to the fastest lap to lead the 2023 drivers' championship by a single point.

PLUS: How Perez kept Verstappen's Saudi GP surge at bay

But while Verstappen limited the damage and retained his championship lead, he was still unhappy at losing out on a better chance to win and felt Red Bull must do better to avoid more reliability issues.

"We need to do better as a team, we can't have problems like these," Verstappen told Dutch broadcaster Viaplay.

"Otherwise this would have been a very different race for me. At the end we limited the damage a little bit, but I should have won here."

Verstappen's charge was hampered by fresh driveshaft concerns in the latter stages of the race.

The Dutchman initially pushed harder than the team was comfortable with, but he eventually relented and ended his hopes of overhauling Perez, focusing on the fastest lap point instead.

Perez voiced his concerns, admitting that Red Bull's massive performance advantage has saved them from provoking more reliability issues.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

He even claimed that the Red Bulls might not have finished the season opener in Bahrain, where Verstappen led home Perez at a canter if they had been put under any serious pressure by the competition.

Read Also:

"We were in a lucky position in Bahrain but otherwise if we had to push to the end, we probably wouldn't make the race," Perez revealed.

"So, there are a lot of reliability concerns at the moment but hopefully they don't hit us anytime soon.

"It's going to hit us at some point but obviously we need to keep working on that."

With Red Bull dominating both races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, it seems a foregone conclusion that Verstappen and Perez will decide the championship amongst themselves.

Verstappen, therefore, called on Red Bull to fix its reliability issues and ensure a fair battle between himself and Perez, who according to team boss Christian Horner are "free to race".

"Everyone is happy but personally, I'm not happy because I'm not here to be second," he said.

"When you're fighting for a championship and especially when it looks like it's just between two cars, we have to make sure that also the two cars are reliable."

shares
comments

Related video

FIA launches F1 tyre supply tender from 2025

Sainz: Ferrari has set development path amid F1 race pace weakness

Why the end of F1’s design divergence is nothing to be sad about 

Why the end of F1’s design divergence is nothing to be sad about 

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Jonathan Noble

Why the end of F1’s design divergence is nothing to be sad about  Why the end of F1’s design divergence is nothing to be sad about 

Why Mercedes may be wrong to be so cagey on new F1 expectations

Why Mercedes may be wrong to be so cagey on new F1 expectations

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Alex Kalinauckas

Why Mercedes may be wrong to be so cagey on new F1 expectations Why Mercedes may be wrong to be so cagey on new F1 expectations

Is this F1's most underrated driver of 2023?

Is this F1's most underrated driver of 2023?

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

Is this F1's most underrated driver of 2023? Is this F1's most underrated driver of 2023?

Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Why Verstappen's 2023 Spanish GP win wasn't as simple as it looked

Why Verstappen's 2023 Spanish GP win wasn't as simple as it looked

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Why Verstappen's 2023 Spanish GP win wasn't as simple as it looked Why Verstappen's 2023 Spanish GP win wasn't as simple as it looked

How F1 teams manage the punishing reality of F1’s relentless schedule

How F1 teams manage the punishing reality of F1’s relentless schedule

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

How F1 teams manage the punishing reality of F1’s relentless schedule How F1 teams manage the punishing reality of F1’s relentless schedule

The war reality that shines a light on the job Red Bull is doing

The war reality that shines a light on the job Red Bull is doing

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Monaco GP
Jonathan Noble

The war reality that shines a light on the job Red Bull is doing The war reality that shines a light on the job Red Bull is doing

How Mercedes' new F1 upgrades fared - and what's next for the revitalised W14

How Mercedes' new F1 upgrades fared - and what's next for the revitalised W14

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Monaco GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

How Mercedes' new F1 upgrades fared - and what's next for the revitalised W14 How Mercedes' new F1 upgrades fared - and what's next for the revitalised W14

Subscribe