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Verstappen on Ferrari fans: 'They are not hooligans'
With a big smile on his face, Fernando Alonso told Zandvoort that he had made no attempt to pass Max Verstappen because he wanted to leave the track alive. An awake journalist in Italy recalled that statement after qualifying in Monza, and asked Verstappen if that was why it was better for the Dutchman to let a Ferrari driver win in turn one on Sunday?
"No, I don't think like that," Verstappen responded amused. "I'm only here to win, and then we'll figure out what happens leaving the track. The fans, they of course, support Ferrari and they will always want to see a red car win, but they are also sensible. They are not hooligans, so it's all okay."
Carlos Sainz, the man on pole, added that Verstappen can always take a helicopter to get away. Verstappen laughed: "I just have to run hard, so everything will be fine. No, I'm joking. Everything will be fine."
No Verstappen as the fastest for once
After eight poles so far - and another P1 in qualifying at Spa which is not counted - Verstappen was not the fastest at Monza. "I think it was just very tight," he said. "You could see that in Q1, Q2, Q3. Every run you could see that. We were very closely matched. And I think this weekend for us, especially from my side, I think Friday was a little bit more tricky, but I think we can't really complain."
"I had like so many weekends in a row where we put the car on the track and it has been easygoing. It has been really well set up. And it seemed like here, which is a little bit more difficult to find the right trade off for downforce for us. But I was very happy this morning. I thought the car was working well on one lap and on the long run as well. I'm happy with second to be honest. Here in Monza, it's always very tight. Sometimes you might jump ahead. Sometimes you're just behind, but I'm confident for tomorrow."
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