2023-05-01 12:15:00
Max Verstappen commented on the results of the Baku weekend, emphasizing that he and Sergio Perez, his teammate at Red Bull Racing, have a good relationship, but their rivalry will continue until the end of the season.
Question: This is the 81st podium in your career in Formula 1, and according to this indicator, you are ahead of Ayrton Senna, who finished 80 times in the top three. How would you comment on the Sunday race and the Baku weekend in general?
Max Verstappen: In general, it was somehow fussy, but with this format of the weekend, this was to be expected. If we talk regarding the race, then in the first segment I, perhaps, in terms of working with rubber, I should have acted more aggressively. I think I was overly cautious.
That is why Sergio was driving close behind me, and then, of course, we made the decision to pit. I want to say that when I saw that some car stopped in the relegation zone, I thought that its rider simply blocked the wheels on braking.
It will be necessary to analyze this episode, because now it is clear that I simply might not see that car (Nick de Vries’ AlphaTauri), although it was clear that one of the wheels was damaged on it. Of course, the decision to pit stop affected my race.
Then, when the safety car left the track, I tried to put pressure on Sergio, tried to catch up with him to use the DRS, and at some point I was close to it. But when I was driving close behind him, then, apparently, my tires began to give up, which was too early, because we had to drive such a long distance.
In general, at some point I just decided to stay in this position so as not to let the tires wear out completely. At the same time, it was very difficult to find the optimal balance in the corners – from the entrance to the apex. And on the Baku track, if everything is done correctly, a lot of time can be won back precisely at this phase of cornering,
I had problems first with understeer, then with oversteer. So throughout the race, I constantly tried to change the settings with the switches on the steering wheel, trying to get the car to behave more correctly. I think that in the end I found a good compromise, because the last 10 laps I drove a lot more confident.
In the end, I’m happy that I finished second. Of course, you always want to win, but sometimes you need the weekends to develop in this way, because it teaches a lot and helps to better understand the car.
Q: How would you compare the pace of the top three cars? Do you think Ferrari managed to close the gap to some extent?
Max Verstappen: I think we have a pretty fast car. I don’t remember exactly, but, in my opinion, at the finish line we were ahead of them by 20 seconds? Of course, we attacked with full force, but those who rode behind us did not relax either. Of course, we are trying to make the car even faster, because the season is long, and there are races ahead on a variety of tracks. But in general, this weekend has been positive for us.
Question You said that before the safety car left, you saw Nick de Vries’ car stop on the track, but you were not sure if he might continue driving. But as far as I can tell, you were counting on the fact that the team, assessing the situation, anticipates the appearance of a safety car. Is that why you say that together with the team you have to analyze this episode?
Max Verstappen: Yes, I meant that I saw a stopped car, but I saw it on the screens, and there it was impossible to see if all its wheels were in place. I want to say that the team had more information regarding this. But we will analyze everything and see if we might have done something differently then.
Question Many riders said that the length of the DRS zone was reduced in vain, because it affected the number of overtaking. Do you think it was necessary to reduce the DRS zone on this route? And would the races be more spectacular if they left the previous configuration?
Max Verstappen: Every year cars generate more and more downforce, and if nothing is changed, it will be more and more difficult to overtake. But this is also due to the weight of modern cars, because they are quite heavy, and at low speeds it has become more difficult to chase an opponent, because as soon as the car destabilizes, it immediately begins to slide.
The load on the tires has increased, so the rubber overheats more. In addition, new generation cars require very tight suspension settings. I remember that, for example, in 2015 or 2016 in corners it was sometimes possible to choose different trajectories, it was possible to attack the curbs more strongly. Not that the cars then had a soft suspension, but still softer than now. And then it was possible to apply different piloting techniques, while modern cars simply do not allow this.
On urban roads, all this manifests itself more noticeably, because here you need to pilot with maximum confidence, and the balance at the entrance to corners should be as close to ideal as possible. And today at the beginning of the race I had problems with this, so I tried to change the settings.
Q: Sergio is now only six points behind you – to what extent does this threaten your plans to win a third title? Will you be able to maintain a normal relationship if only the two of you fight for the victory in the championship?
Max Verstappen: Definitely, we now have the fastest car, but I have been in similar situations before, and now it all depends on how stable you are. We all understand this. The season is long, we have to race on tracks that are very different from each other.
But you can see that Sergio this year is really serious intentions. He’s doing really well and it’s nice to see him. He pilots more and more confidently, he is quite comfortable in the team, and we all like it. In my opinion, we are having a good time with him off the tracks.
And it’s also important to emphasize this: when someone does a great job, it should be recognized and appreciated. This is exactly what happened today. We will continue to compete until the end of the season, but that’s okay. We’ve been doing this all our lives.
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