Verstappen hoping for impactful upgrades from Honda

Max Verstappen is hoping that Honda can provide significant upgrades for Red Bull over the course of the season so that the team can compete for race victories up against Ferrari and Mercedes, with the Silver Arrows having dominated the 2019 season so far.

Red Bull were expected to become championship contenders this campaign after their change of engine provider from Renault to Honda, but as of yet, they haven’t displayed as much pace as Ferrari or Mercedes.

Verstappen: I had to settle for fourthRead more

It was confirmed this week that the team would receive upgrades ahead of the next grand prix in Baku, and Verstappen has welcomed the improvements after the Chinese GP in which he finished fourth.

"We did have another good result points-wise, but during the race there was not much action," Verstappen told Ziggo Sport.

"To say frustrating is a bit extreme, but at this moment we lack race pace so then you need to make sure that you extract as many points as possible.

"The season is still long and we have to hope that, at a certain point, when the upgrades come, we will be able to slot right back in."

One of the main aspects of the car that Verstappen wants to see improved is quick starts off the line at the start of races.

"So far I haven’t really had any decent start," he added.

As a team we did a good job today 👊🏻 We had the right strategy and maximised the result with P4 #KeepPushing 🇨🇳 #ChineseGP #Race1000 pic.twitter.com/uHIiupeuXj

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 14, 2019

"With the Honda-engine, we’re still trying to find a good start. That is something that can be improved."

Even with the new parts confirmed for Azerbaijan, he doesn’t know whether they can have an immediate impact.

"In Baku we are expecting new parts for the car and engine, the real work is set for a later date," the Dutchman continued.

"It is hard to say at this moment. I find it a bit hard to be really able to gauge the season so far.

"This week Mercedes is fast and then the other week it’s Ferrari, for us it’s a bit of a question mark."

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