Verstappen jokes about second stint pace: 'If it was a six-hour race...'
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
While Max Verstappen did not have the best of starts to the Chinese Grand Prix, during the second half of the day, the RB21 became stronger. In the end, the defending world champion was satisfied with the way the race finished.
"The start was difficult," Verstappen began to Viaplay. "I drove the first stint the way the team wanted me to. With saving. I said, "Yes then we are going to be too slow anyway". Well, it turned out [like that]. But at least I just did what they wanted. Only then, of course, they walk away from you pretty quickly."
He did not have the smoothest of starts, losing two positions at that moment. "I just didn't have any grip. I wanted to go outside. And kept oversteering. So then you can't lean on that tyre at all. Then of course I didn't want to take too much risk with my front wing or whatever. And actually I think it was just right too, because with how I drove my first stint, they would have overtaken me anyway. So then you also stay nicely out of trouble."
As time went on, Verstappen began to find more pace compared to rivals. "Second stint in the beginning was also difficult. Somehow the tyres got too hot and then you can't attack. But the longer we drove, the better it went. Relative to the rest. So I think if we enter a six-hour race..."
Verstappen focuses on
The Dutchman prefers to focus on the positives in Shanghai. "We do have to stay positive in that area. At the last the speed was in it a bit more, so that does give positive feelings and a bit more hope."
After Lewis Hamilton pitted in front of him, Verstappen managed to complete a nice overtake on Charles Leclerc. "I saw that of course he had a lot of understeer, so of course I tried to force him to defend there too in Turn 2, because then of course he won't make it to that apex. And then I was just able to go around the outside nicely in Turn 3," he commented on his maneuvre.
P4 was the result he expected already before the Grand Prix. "I thought after the start how that first stint went, I was like, well, this is kind of the maximum we can do today. Fortunately, maybe then that hard tyre came to us a bit more."
Finally, he was asked about whether his side could improve for the weekend in Suzuka in two weeks time. "Well, it's not just worries. We just have to get going. We know we are not as strong as the other teams at the moment and we just have to work on that," Verstappen concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!