Max reflects on first F1-races in order to progress together

Published on 25 April 2015 by Mike Motilall

During the press conference in Zandvoort, it is the most asked question, so Max Verstappen answers it again, for one of the seventy journalists present. How do you look back on your first four races in the Formula 1? “Positive. We have the speed and apart from the problems, the car is very good. With that, we can fight in the top ten as we have shown already. In the qualification and races we have matters sorted now.” Max is even willing to grade that: “Something between a seven and an eight. In China I definitely drove a brilliant race. The entire time I was smiling in the car and I do think that that is very important.”

In hindsight, what was not such a problem after all? “Physically everything is under control, so I am very happy with that.” And what can still be improved? “I think that I can improve on all levels. That is always my goal. You are never good enough: whenever you do something once, it can always be done better. Things like pit stops or how we deal with things. Every team always strives for improvement.”

Talking about improvement, we cannot dismiss it: the engine. ”Of course we have had our share of problems during the race, but it is important to get our heads together and to look ahead, work together and stay positive. Nobody wants to be in this situation, not even Renault. They are also eager to solve this. We know that when we get this figured out, we can bring it to the top teams. We will need to wait till Barcelona, but I am confident that Renault will get their act together. They have shown that they are able to become World champion, four times in a row mind you, but that is, all of a sudden, forgotten. Renault has a tremendous history in the Formula 1, so they really are able to develop an engine.”

Was the race in China, when you dropped out just three laps before the finish, having been on P8 all the time, a difficult moment? “Yes, we never saw it coming and it would have been a super finish. But those things happen. At that moment, it is quite annoying, but from that point onwards, you pick things up and try to solve matters. You lose points and certainly at the beginning of the season, it’s a pity. But people did see you drive a great race.” Regarding the next Grand Prix, in Spain, Max will not let himself be distracted by this. “No, you cannot rush into things and I will approach that race the same way as always.”

The race in Barcelona marks the beginning of the European leg of this season. “It will help that I know the tracks already, except for Monaco”, says Max. “It makes it easier, seen I can start working on the setup from day one, as opposed to using that time to get to know the circuit. That is a small advantage compared to the tracks overseas. Hopefully, we can grab some points again. We thrive on tracks where there is a lot of downforce required.”

How important are the free practices? “In the free practices, we gradually build things up. It is very hard to see where you stand. You actually do know it, but the rest doesn’t. In reality, I don’t care that much for lap times during the free practices. You are then busy with setting up the car and improving, but not yet focused on setting fastest laps. You have got to do that during qualification and unfortunately we did not get that right in Bahrain. But I learn from those things. Normally, we are very strong in the race and that is what counts.”