Verstappen: In dry weather we still lack speed

Max Verstappen and team advisor Dr Helmut Marko suggest Red Bull will enjoy a more level playing field this weekend in Las Vegas.

Just days ago, upon Red Bull’s urging, the FIA told teams that one particular protective solution to the ’skid blocks’ underneath some 2024 cars - including Ferrari and Mercedes - would need to be removed immediately.

Triple world champion Verstappen told Dutch reporters on Wednesday: "Hopefully things have changed, but not from our side.

"I hope that in these last three races we will see the real, proper performance of all the cars."

Indeed, if affected teams now need to raise ride heights to safeguard against floor wear, Red Bull could enjoy a relative performance boost. Both Ferrari and Mercedes confirmed on Thursday that the new technical directive affected them.

"Yes, we had to make the change," Ferrari’s Frederic Vasseur said. "But we also had the confirmation before this that the plank was legal.

"I think it was the right attitude for us not to fight because I want to stay focused on the championship and not on this kind of discussion." The Frenchman told Sky Italia that he doubts the tweak will affect performance.

Marko, meanwhile, suggested that McLaren was also enjoying an unfair advantage until very recently, when the FIA looked into whether the team was inserting water into the tyres for a cooling effect.

"It was unbelievable how fast Lando Norris was able to drive, especially towards the end of the race," he told f1-insider.com. "Our tyres were completely worn out. We didn’t have a chance.

"In the sprint in Sao Paulo, we were then suddenly faster than McLaren and Ferrari - even though we hadn’t changed anything. But they suddenly had to deal with high tyre wear.

"That was very strange," the 81-year-old added.

However, Verstappen warns that the technical changes at rival teams won’t be a silver bullet for Red Bull.

"Because in dry weather we still lack speed," said the Dutchman. "Winning in Brazil was nice and special, but it does not mean that everything is suddenly great."

Nonetheless, it is possible Verstappen will mathematically secure his fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship this weekend in Las Vegas, with two full grands prix to spare.

Has Red Bull or Verstappen’s management prepared anything for the potential celebrations on Saturday night?: "I don’t know and I don’t want to know," the 27-year-old insisted.