Autobayng News Team
Max Verstappen says he can’t count on rain helping him this weekend because of McLaren’s superior performance in wet conditions this year.
The Red Bull driver scored a vital win in last year’s rain-affected Brazilian Grand Prix which put him within touching distance of a fourth world championship. With more rain forecast this weekend, a repeat of last year’s result would help Verstappen close on the championship-leading McLaren drivers.
However he believes Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will have an advantage over him if rain falls on either of the races this weekend.
“In the rain it’s always very risky,” Verstappen told the official Formula 1 channel. “It can work for you, it can work against you.
“Also this season I think in the wet McLaren has been very, very strong to control the overheating, for example, on the intermediate tyres. So it’s not a given that if it rains that suddenly we will be the ones to beat.”
McLaren has won all four rain-affected races so far this year. Norris narrowly led Verstappen home in Melbourne, though the Red Bull driver dropped back earlier in the race as his first set of tyres faded. Norris also won the rain-hit sprint race in Miami, though that was partly thanks to the appearance of the Safety Car, while Verstappen was delayed by a collision in the pits.
Norris led a one-two for McLaren in the rain at Silverstone after Verstappen spun off during a Safety Car restart. McLaren also filled the top two places in the wet Belgian Grand Prix, Piastri leading their cars home, with Verstappen fourth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
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Verstappen arrives in Brazil having cut his deficit to the championship lead from 104 points to 36 in just five rounds. With four rounds remaining, he still expects it will be very difficult to overhaul the McLaren drivers.
“We’ll just try to do everything we can ’til the end,” he said. “It’s 36 points, it’s still a decent gap.
“I think over the last few rounds, we have done a very good job as a team. But of course, if we want to close that down further, we need to be ahead constantly now. And that will be, I think, a big challenge.”
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