Jacques Villeneuve Dismisses Claims Red Bull Car is Built Exclusively for Max Verstappen

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has pushed back against the popular narrative that Red Bull designs its cars specifically for Max Verstappen, arguing the performance gap stems from the Dutch driver's superior ability to develop and understand the car, not a biased design philosophy. Villeneuve contends that Verstappen's teammates struggle not because the car is built against them, but because they fail to keep pace with his relentless development and comprehension of the vehicle's complex dynamics.

Why it matters:

This debate cuts to the core of team dynamics and driver influence in Formula 1. The perception of a "number one driver car" can impact a team's ability to attract top-tier talent as a teammate and shapes the public narrative around a champion's success. Villeneuve's perspective shifts the focus from potential engineering favoritism to the raw skill of car development and adaptation, a critical but often less visible component of a driver's arsenal.

The details:

• Villeneuve explained that Verstappen's dominance is a result of him actively making the car better throughout a season. A teammate who cannot decipher the car's evolving behavior will appear to fall back, not because they are slowing down, but because Verstappen is accelerating the car's performance ceiling.
• He highlighted the complexity of modern F1 cars, where issues like understeer can have multiple, contradictory mechanical causes, all interacting with a sensitive aerodynamic platform.
• The ultimate goal, as described by Villeneuve, is to reach a point where the car feels like an extension of the driver's body, requiring no conscious thought—a state he says very few drivers achieve.
• This theory is illustrated by Sergio Perez's tenure at Red Bull, where he often started seasons competitively before the performance gap widened dramatically as development progressed.

The big picture:

Villeneuve's comments come amid ongoing musical chairs for the second Red Bull seat. The team has cycled through Sergio Perez, a briefly promoted Liam Lawson, and currently Yuki Tsunoda alongside Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar confirmed for the 2026 seat. This instability contrasts with Verstappen's unshakable position and bolsters the "car built for Max" argument for some observers. However, Villeneuve's analysis suggests the seat's volatility may be less about an undriveable car and more about the immense challenge of matching F1's most potent driver-car developer.

What's next:

The spotlight now turns to Yuki Tsunoda for the remainder of 2025 and Isack Hadjar for 2026. Their performance relative to Verstappen will be the next real-world test of Villeneuve's hypothesis. If they can stay within a consistent performance window, it may weaken the "built for Max" claims. If a familiar gap emerges, the debate will undoubtedly continue, but Villeneuve has provided a compelling technical and psychological framework for why that gap exists, independent of design intent.