Villeneuve challenges Perez's view on Red Bull's car design favoring Verstappen

Jacques Villeneuve has countered the common narrative that Red Bull designs its Formula 1 cars specifically for Max Verstappen, arguing the performance gap to his teammates stems from the Dutchman's superior ability to develop and understand the car, not from deliberate team bias.

Why it matters:

The perception that a team builds a car for its lead driver is a recurring theme in F1, often used to explain performance disparities. Villeneuve's analysis shifts the focus from potential team favoritism to driver skill in car development, a crucial but often overlooked aspect of a driver's contribution to a team's success. This reframes the conversation around what makes a truly complete driver in the modern era.

The details:

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, the 1997 World Champion dismissed the idea that Red Bull deliberately handicaps Verstappen's teammates.

• Villeneuve stated, "With Red Bull, everybody's been saying, 'Oh, but the car's made for Max, poor second driver.' Actually, no, Max is working on it, making the car better."
• He explained that Verstappen's relentless work in understanding and improving the car throughout a season creates a moving target for his teammate.
• The Canadian highlighted that a driver who cannot comprehend the car's evolving characteristics will appear to get slower, not because their raw pace declines, but because Verstappen's understanding makes him faster.

By the numbers:

Villeneuve pointed to Sergio Perez's tenure as the prime example. He noted that Perez and Verstappen would often start a season closely matched, but the gap would widen as the year progressed. This pattern, repeated over several seasons, illustrates the compounding effect of development understanding versus simply driving the car delivered at the first race.

The big picture:

This perspective challenges a convenient excuse for teammate struggles. It underscores that a top driver's role extends beyond Saturday and Sunday; it includes the continuous feedback loop that shapes the car's development direction. For a team like Red Bull, working most closely with the driver who provides the clearest, most effective feedback is a logical performance decision, not necessarily an act of favoritism. It raises the bar for what is expected of a driver aiming to partner a generational talent like Verstappen.

What's next:

The debate over car design philosophy and driver influence will continue, especially as driver market movements loom. Villeneuve's comments add a layer of nuance, suggesting that future teammates of top drivers will need to demonstrate not just speed but also acute technical acumen to avoid being left behind as the car evolves. The performance of any new driver alongside Verstappen will be scrutinized through this lens of development capability.