03 June 2023 , 17:02
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Max Verstappen couldn't resist taking a dig at Mercedes over the latest upgrades to their cars.
The Silver Arrows have abandoned their 'zeropod' concept and gone for a more traditional design on their sidepods. That change debuted last weekend in Monaco and continues here for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton feeling much better about his car already.
Naturally, as the Red Bull cars have been extremely dominant so far this season, the upgrades brought by Mercedes and several other teams – including Ferrari this weekend – appear to be inspired by the visual look of the RB19's aerodynamic package.
When questioned about that after taking pole position for the Barcelona race, Verstappen chuckled as he mocked Mercedes. "I think our next upgrade will be with no sidepods. Then everyone can go back to that," he said with a smile.
Regarding his performance on Saturday, he was similarly jovial. Verstappen explained: "The car was really good. Qualifying started out a bit tricky with the weather but once it started to dry out, the car was on rails. It was really enjoyable to drive."
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Hamilton was fifth fastest on the road in Q3, but he also was much more upbeat. The Brit has been very critical of his W14 on several occasions so far this season but appears to be much more at ease about the way it performs since the introduction of this latest upgrades package.
Sidepods returned to the Mercedes cars in Monaco last weekend (Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)He said after the session: "I'm absolutely shocked. A real surprise to see us so far up front and competing, ultimately, for the front row. We did some great work overnight with the analysis and I was here until 11pm last night trying to figure out where we can find the time.
"I knew when I woke up this morning I was one a mission but I definitely didn't expect us to be fighting for the front row. "The car really came alive today. A big thank you to everyone back at the factory because it's showing that we are progressing which I'm so grateful to see.
"And I really enjoyed driving the car today. It was front row all the way to turn 10 but when I got on the power there was a snap of oversteer and that's where I lost two tenths. But I'm more encouraged to see the car where it is and hopefully we can progress forwards."