How Verstappen has been hinting at serious concerns for months

Max Verstappen has been on his guard from day one in 2024. While everyone, especially after the winter test in Bahrain, wanted to hand Verstappen the championship, Verstappen himself was still on his toes. While the Dutchman secured pole for the first seven Grands Prix, things are not as easy as they were in 2023.

The outside world initially reacts somewhat with laughter to Verstappen's comments, and entirely unjustifiably so. Certainly in Bahrain, Japan and China, Verstappen took control. Despite a retirement due to a technical failure in Australia, Verstappen holds the lead in the championship. The fact that Sergio Perez was still second in the championship after five GPs confirmed that picture for the outside world.

Verstappen has been giving hints for months

In Miami, it became clear for the first time that Red Bull were beatable. Lando Norris needed some luck but suddenly saw that he could really compete for victory with the McLaren. At Imola, that picture was confirmed when Norris could compete for victory until the last lap of the race.

For Verstappen, it all came as no surprise. Prior to the weekend in Imola, for instance, the three-time world champion already said that the whole season has been exciting for him. Verstappen stressed that the entire field had been close together since the start of the season but that Red Bull simply did their job better than their rivals.

McLaren, meanwhile, have also learned their lesson. Since an update in Miami, McLaren are now suddenly competing for wins every weekend, especially Lando Norris. Norris finished second, fourth and second successively after Miami. Since the Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen scored 124, Norris 94.

In Monaco, Verstappen began to voice his concerns for the first time. Yes, it is Monaco and a very typical circuit, but Verstappen then already predicts that it will not stop at that circuit. The Dutchman feared even then that the competition was seriously close. A view that was confirmed in Canada.

Why no one listened to Verstappen

Yet again, everyone turned to Barcelona as the real test for Red Bull Racing. Ahead of the race weekend, Ferrari and Mercedes were clear in their predictions: in Barcelona, Red Bull still have the upper hand. McLaren clearly kept their cards close to their chest and now it has become clear why. Indeed, according to Norris, McLaren already knew they could now compete for pole.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's worries are mounting. Although Verstappen has been making it clear for several weeks that he realised the competition was closing in, the problems are still unresolved. For the third weekend in a row, Verstappen does not have the fastest car in qualifying and that worries him for the rest of the season.

Verstappen still has a 63-point lead over Lando Norris, but with 15 Grands Prix to go (including the one in Spain), Verstappen too knows that a lot can still happen. It makes the F1 world championship a lot more exciting than people expected beforehand, although one Verstappen has been giving several hints since the start of the season, but nobody believed him...