Max: 'Austria win unexpected so extra special'

Published on 05 July 2018 by Stefan Meens

“It was an unexpected win, which made it very special”, reflected Max Verstappen on his Austrian Grand Prix victory at the FIA press conference ahead of British Grand Prix at Silverstone. “It didn’t look that great after Friday and Saturday. But, soon as the race got underway, I felt the balance in the car was a lot better. I could push more in the fast corners. Before, we lost a lot of time there.”

“The Mercedes were in front of me, but with Valtteri’s problem and the virtual safety car - the team made good use of that - it was just a case of managing the tyres to the end. Ultimately, I think we were the strongest in that area. The Ferraris came close, but we had it under control all along, both the team and I. I’m very happy we won.”

The victory at the Red Bull Ring is Max’ fourth F1 win. Is this the best one yet? “I say that after every win. Winning is always good, but this one in Austria was unexpected, which makes it that little bit more special.”

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing has scored two wins this year, so how strong is the team? “It depends on the circuit. If there are many straights, we’re the third quickest team. If there aren’t too many straights, I think we have the best chassis and we’ll be very completive. So to win in Austria was great; normally we’d expect to drop points there.”

Looking forward to the British Grand Prix, Max remains down to earth. “The problem is that some corners are now full throttle and are basically turned into straights. That will hurt us so I don’t expect to be super competitive. We’ll be there or thereabouts but we’ll have to wait and see.”

At Silverstone, drivers are now able to use DRS in a corner, to be precise, turn 1. “I’ll definitely try it. I don’t know if you can win much time with it. It will probably be tougher on the rear tyres. It also depends on your rear wing set-up.”

After scoring a lot of points in the last two races, Max does not think Red Bull are now contenders for the title. “We don’t have the package to fight for the win on every track. For example, Monza will be difficult. Of course, there will be tracks on which we’ll be competitive and we’ll be able to fight for the win. But for a title challenge you need to almost win every weekend to make up the lost ground.”

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