F1 News
Albers: 'Due to tyre management, drivers can no longer push continuously'
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen showed again during the 70th Anniversary GP that the title 'tyre whisperer' fits him perfectly. He drove around effortlessly in the RB16 without showing large traces of wear and tear on his tyres. Now that depends on more than just Verstappen, but he did have a very important contribution to make, which eventually allowed him to take victory.
Verstappen is a natural talent
In the Formula 1 podcast of De Telegraaf former F1-driver Christijan Albers looks back on the performance of Verstappen and in particular the tyre management that the Dutchman showed. "Max has always been a driver who has been good at tyre management. Being able to push, but not going over the edge, not overheating the tyres. He's good at that."
"You just have that feeling. That's the natural talent. You're born with it, you have it or you don't. That's simple. There's no easier explanation. Max has that, he has that feeling and he knows when he's going over that edge, when you're going to create understeer, power oversteer or power slides, he can handle that very well. So can a Lewis Hamilton, you see. He can do that better than Bottas."
No more pushing like the old days
The tyre management shown by Verstappen resulted in an exciting race last weekend, but the result is that racing is no longer just pushing as it used to be and that's a pity, according to Albers.
"What you get lately is that they can't push anymore. Every lap, like I used to drive Formula 1, that gives you the maximum. Now you can't do that with these tyres. So I have to tell you honestly, I think that weakening Formula 1. But it might be more fun for the viewer, because there is more sensation and there is more action", says Albers.
And he concludes with: "But for a driver, it's dramatic because you can never really go to the maximum, because you always have to think: 'I have to save the tyres.'"