Would Verstappen have preferred to go for easy win at Spa? He says this
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- Nicole Mulder
Max Verstappen impressed in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix with a lap time six tenths faster than the rest of the field. However, due to an engine change, he will start from 11th place. Wouldn't the Dutchman have wished he had collected the inevitable grid penalty elsewhere so that he could more easily go for victory in Belgium?
For an 11th place on the grid, the atmosphere in the Red Bull Racing garage was really good after qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. The reason? Verstappen put the competition far behind by posting an impressive pole time on the wet Spa-Francorchamps tarmac. An engine change - his fifth of the Formula 1 season - put him ten places back, which simultaneously means Sergio Perez is promoted to the front row of the grid.
Plenty of cause for satisfaction for Red Bull and Verstappen, then, but what if he had taken the grid penalty elsewhere instead of at the circuit that suits him so well? Speaking to the Dutch press after qualifying - before he had to pay a visit to the stewards because he was hampered by Guanyu Zhou during the session - he makes it clear that that was simply not an option.
Verstappen explains Red Bull choice
This is not the first time Red Bull has chosen Spa-Francorchamps to collect a grid penalty and there is a good reason for it. "That has been the case here every year. This is obviously a circuit where you can overtake, which is why we do it here," Verstappen replied as GPblog posed the question to him whether he regrets having to take the grid penalty in Belgium.
Moreover, Red Bull chose to change only the combustion engine, meaning Verstappen does not have to come all the way from the back of the field. "I think that's the best thing too. Because if you have to start at the very back it's obviously quite difficult. That was the best we could do today - to be on pole and be put back to eleven," said the three-time world champion.