A Red Bull team member has claimed that Max Verstappen’s wins in Malaysia and Singapore were ‘lucky’.

The Milton Keynes outfit have turned a corner with the RB22 after a difficult start to the season. The car was unstable and unreliable, with Verstappen scoring just two podiums in the first nine races.

But recent upgrades have made the car more predictable, which the four-time champion has used to his strengths. Verstappen clinched victory in Sepang, marking the first win for Red Bull Powertrains, and followed it up with the Sprint win and Grand Prix win in Singapore.

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Red Bull team member claims Max Verstappen was ‘lucky’ to win in Malaysia and Singapore

The RB22 is now arguably the fastest package on the grid on all track layouts. However, journalist Rosanna Tennant spoke to a team member from Red Bull, who claims that Verstappen’s wins were down to luck.

She said on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast: “I had a conversation with someone at Red Bull who said they got lucky over the last couple of races, notwithstanding the Max factor, but that they were lucky. How do we respond to that?”

In Malaysia, George Russell suffered a power unit failure under the safety car with a handful of laps to go. Mercedes were looking to challenge Verstappen, but they ultimately did not have the pace to match him.

Then, in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton’s strategy blunder cost him and Ferrari a potential podium. Teammate Charles Leclerc finished second, but again, Verstappen had the superior package.

Jolyon Palmer reacted to the claim, saying that perhaps Verstappen and Red Bull perform when Ferrari ‘underachieve’, as Singapore did show.

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He said: “I think said person presumably thought that Ferrari underachieved in Singapore. I thought you were going to say, ‘Max is particularly good when Ferrari underachieve. I think that’s when he’s really talented, when Ferrari open the door for it.’

“It’s kind of also true. It shows that the level of Max and the team to be fair, the strategy department, they’re always punchy. They usually get it right.

“And it doesn’t take a huge amount of any team, whether it’s Ferrari or Mercedes or McLaren, not being perfect for a driver that is so close to perfect all the time to beat them, which is basically what happened in Singapore.

“If you put the sectors together, the Ferrari duo, I think could have both been ahead of Max, but it’s not the easiest car to drive. It was cooking its tyres, and so I think that’s probably why Red Bull are hedging their bets a little bit.”