Max' engineer Rik Vernooij reflects on season opener

Published on 21 April 2014 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen ended his first ever European Formula 3 race weekend on a high with a deserved second place in the third and final race of the Silverstone round. An important figure throughout the weekend, as he is ultimately responsible for Max' car set-up, is Van Amersfoort Racing engineer Rik Vernooij. We spoke to Rik after the third race.

Looking back at the opening round of the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Rik is delighted with Max' weekend: “His third race was fantastic. On Saturday his starts didn’t go well and we had a long chat about that to find a solution. Therefore, prior to the formation lap, Max practised a start but he could still improve on that one. He immediately did so in the race as he had a solid start.”

Not only the improved starts brings a smile to Rik's face. “After the decent start he kept the pressure on throughout the whole race. On top of that he pulled off a couple of beautiful overtaking manoeuvres. In my opinion, the last one was fantastic.”

Both Max and Van Amersfoort upped their game throughout the weekend, underlining VAR's ambition. “We gained more confidence as the event progressed. Max was fast from the very first session and we proved we have good foundation. Ironically I think our performance was almost too good in the opening sessions which led to a bit of disappointment after the second qualifying. We really felt we could've done more”, reveals Max' race-engineer.

Nevertheless, optimism prevails in at the team. Rik: “What matters is the vital experience we've gained at Silverstone. In the first race Max took too many risks, in the second race he gained plenty of F3 race experience and he rounded things up with a great podium finish in race 3. I'm therefore really looking forward to the next race at Hockenheim as I don’t see a reason why we cant keep this forward momentum going”.