Verstappen happy with RB19 in Belgium: "We were flying"
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Max Verstappen took full advantage in the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps. At the Belgian circuit, the Dutchman had to leave the lead to Oscar Piastri after the first lap, but he fought back well and after the safety car he quickly passed the McLaren driver. Verstappen was logically satisfied with his own performance.
Race control opted for a rolling start on the wet track after five laps behind the safety car. Verstappen retained the lead, but did see Piastri go straight in for intermediates. That undercut gave the Australian the lead (for a while). Verstappen explains why he did not immediately change to the tyre with the green cheek.
Verstappen happy with sprint race
"It was a safer call (to stay out for lap one) – I could come in first and then be blocked by other cars, there might be a Safety Car and then you lose out massively. I didn’t mind to stay out," said the Dutchman, who knew he then had 10 laps to regain P1.
"We lost one position and we know we are quick and we could see that when we put the inter tyres on we were flying. The car was quick, tyres were holding on, just tiny little issues (with the brakes)." On tomorrow: "I need to pass a few cars tomorrow. The biggest risk is just lap one, turn one, it’s always very tricky there. As long as we stay out of trouble we have a quick car."