Verstappen ignores big words by team management: "Follow my own opinion"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
From the lead at Red Bull Racing and especially from the mouth of Helmut Marko, the language sounded combative before the weekend. The ban on party mode would be an advantage for the team and Verstappen was still competing for the world title. The outcome turned out to be less rosy after qualifying. Is it frustrating for him that his team's expectations are so high?
“I just follow my own view on that, when I come into a weekend," Verstappen says in the online press conference from Red Bull. "I try to do the best I can. Everybody can say what they want of course, but I always learnt from a very young age that you have to be realistic. Sometimes that sounds a bit depressing maybe, but for me it works the best, because you don’t end up being disappointed.”
"I never expected to fight Mercedes here. It was very interesting to see how our car was gonna go on low donwforce, but I think it highlighted the issues we have the whole year. It’s just not a very fast car.”
Slipstream only option for Red Bull Racing
During qualifying Red Bull Racing did everything they could to get a slipstream. Mercedes clearly did not opt for this. According to Verstappen this was a consideration only Mercedes could make, for them there was nothing else to do but look for the crowds.
“When you’re so far ahead in lap time, you don’t need a tow. For us every little bit counts. In a tow you lose some time in the corners, but you still gain on the straights. For us it was the only way to be up there. Even Lewis had a higher top speed than Valtteri, even though he drove six seconds behind him.”