Why Max Verstappen’s calm approach could give him the edge over Oscar Piastri

When asked if Norris and Piastri have been unsettled by Verstappen’s return to form, he said: “Well, they’ve already dealt that blow and had a long time to think about it, as naturally, three races have passed.”

“But it’s consistency, and this is also how you see Max in it too: he just doesn’t care. He just takes it race by race. That’s the mentality you need. This is Max’s style: win all races and they’ll tell you when you’re champion instead of counting points and trying to be clever.”

Coronel added: “Just race and at the end you see if you made it or not. Importantly, Red Bull is back. Red Bull has found the speed again and the fun factor is back.”

“I’m always talking about Max’s twinkling eyes which are returning a bit. Otherwise you just get grumpy if you are fighting for third place, that’s just completely crazy.”

The former Red Bull driver pointed out that improvements to the RB21 have helped put Verstappen back into what he called his ‘happy place’.

Max Verstappen has refused to answer one question about McLaren throughout the 2025 F1 season

With McLaren controlling much of the early season and Red Bull struggling to keep up, plenty of fans have speculated about how Verstappen would fare if he were driving the same car as Norris and Piastri.

Dutch journalist Erik van Haren shared that Verstappen has consistently avoided answering that question, likely because anything he says would end up splashed across headlines everywhere.

In the past, Verstappen was also asked whether he could win races in a Racing Bulls car, but he dismissed those suggestions outright, saying it wasn’t realistic.

It would be interesting to see how Verstappen might perform in a car developed outside the Milton Keynes factory, especially since nearly all of his Formula One career has been spent behind the wheel of a Red Bull machine.