Max Verstappen was very satisfied with his laps after qualifying and indicated that he had the confidence to put the car through its paces. Verstappen has not been this positive about the driving behavior of his car for a while. The three-time world champion explains his feeling and why the car drove well this time.
Earlier this week, the Formula 1 field settled in the Austrian mountains to enter the Red Bull Ring. For Verstappen and his team it meant a visit to the home circuit. On Friday the weekend started a little shaky due to a sensor problem, but that problem was quickly resolved. From the first meters on the asphalt, Verstappen was there. Only the Grand Prix itself is still on the program, but he has already managed to win two pole positions and a sprint victory. Verstappen was particularly impressive during qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
“I think the session went really well,” said the 26-year-old at the FIA press conference. “The car was in a much better working window. “I was able to push a little more, trust the grip of the car, the balance,” he continues. ‘It was very good. I just tried to get through Q1 without using a set of new tires. And that worked.’ This way, Verstappen still had four new sets of softs left at the start of Q2. He could therefore do every run on brand new rubber, making him four tenths faster than the competition. “From there we tried to fine-tune the balance.”
Verstappen remains critical
The Limburger indicates that every lap he rode feels good. ‘It’s been a while since I felt like this in the car, also looking at the gap (to the competition, ed.). The last few races I was always very close to it or behind it. So this was certainly very positive for the team,” says Verstappen. In Barcelona he was still two hundredths behind. Then Lando Norris drove what he said was the perfect qualifying lap. Was that the case for Verstappen this weekend? “It was good, but there are probably always things that could be improved, especially when I look back at the lap,” Verstappen smiles.
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“I felt confident,” he explained. “I knew that if I did a solid lap it would be good enough for pole. And that’s what I did today. And that’s what counts.” The Dutchman said that as a team they have been working hard to be more competitive compared to the last few races. Verstappen took his last pole position before Austria in Imola. In Monaco it was Charles Leclerc, in Canada George Russell, and in Spain Norris. “And it seems to be working,” Verstappen said of the progress Red Bull are making. “So I’m definitely happy with that.”
How did the hole get so big?
When things are going well for Verstappen and the RB20 is on track, it is immediately noticeable. Verstappen was not a few hundredths away from McLaren, but immediately four tenths. “Some laps are better than others, but these were very good. I will probably never say it was a perfect lap, but it was a good lap,” concluded the three-time world champion. He himself was quite surprised that the round left such a big gap. “Yeah, I mean it’s a short lap and the gap was quite big. On the other hand, I felt really good with the car, and the balance was there. So then you can really push and attack the corners. I think that’s what caused the gap.”
That the car is blazing fast over one lap is clear. However, due to the short training time on Friday, it is not so clear what the RB20 can do regarding a race distance. The sprint race gave a small foretaste, Verstappen won there. ‘I hope that will be good too (on Sunday, ed.). But I will find out then’, answers the reigning world champion. ‘I had the feeling that the balance of the car improved a bit (during the sprint, ed.), which will hopefully also help on Sunday with the tires, because it will still be a long, hot race. We have to pay close attention to the tires, that is what we will try to do.’
