Max regarding tens of thousands of fans at Spa: “They give positive pressure”

Published on 24 August 2017 by Mike Motilall

Of course the FIA had requested Max Verstappen to join the press conference prior to the Belgian Grand Prix, which the Dutchman regards as his home race.

Asked about the most difficult and most nicest parts of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Max says: “The most difficult part changes every year, it depends on the car balance. I like the second sector with all the fast corners, those are definitely the most beautiful corners to take. Eau Rouge is very nice, the scenery is very nice, but that’s easily flat out now.”

Last year you were on the front row. Is that achievable again? “I think it will be more difficult now, but you never know. We just have to wait and see. It will for sure be a special weekend with so many fans alongside the track and I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

Talking about those tens of thousands of fans that have all come here for you… Do they give you some added pressure? “Positive pressure. It is always nice to see so many fans. Last year during qualifying, they were all cheering, hopefully this year again. For sure it brings more pressure, but you need to translate that into something positive.”

Compared to the others, you have gone for a more ‘aggressive’ choice of tyres. How do you see that yourself? “l’ll tell you that tomorrow. We have to go out and see how the balance of the car is. We’ll also try different tyres and see how the degradation is. From there on we’ll see how we’ll go on with the weekend.”

Red Bull Racing has made some improvements to the power unit. Wat do you expect of that? “it’s just a bit of fine-tuning. I don’t expect any miracles to happen here. It’s just mapping of the engine. It’s not like we’ve suddenly got a lot more horse power.”

Finally, what are your goals for the second half of the season? Max: “We generally approach it race by race and try to achieve the best we can. Especially after the first half of the season I’ve had and my position in the championship, I’ll try to do my best every single weekend and be closer to the top two teams. Hopefully that also brings us in a better position for next year.”

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