Max after fourth place in FP2: 'We have to be realistic'

Published on 24 August 2018 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen was fourth fastest in the second free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen lapped the Spa-Francorchamps track quickest ahead of the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

“We have to be realistic”, explains Max to Verstapppen.nl. “This is the highest we can achieve as we’re down on power compared to Ferrari and Mercedes. We can still improve the car a bit, we not using a lot of rear wing, but that won’t improve our position. Our race pace looked good but in qualifying, in normal circumstances, we’d be fifth and sixth.”

“It was great to see all the fans. Already they were lighting orange flares! Tomorrow it will be even better!”

At the start of the session, conditions are similar to FP1; dry, with rain never far away, and cool temperatures below the 20 degrees mark. The Dutch fans have to wait a while before they can see their hero in action. Fifteen minutes into the session, Max is the last driver to venture out. He starts his lap count on the soft Pirelli compound.

At the halfway mark, Max sets his fastest lap of the session. His run on the super-soft Pirellis grants him fourth place and wraps up the Dutchman’s quali simulation.

With half an hour to go, Max is back on track as he ventures on a long run, again on the super-softs. His team mate, Daniel Ricciardo is on a similar program. Meanwhile, The Mercedes and Ferraris are also focusing on longer stints, but all on various compounds. Hamilton has to abort his run after locking up twice in one lap. A flat-spot on his front right tyre forces him to return to the pits.

Despite most drivers hitting the track during the closing stages of the session, the lap times appear set in stone, as no one improves. Therefore, Raikkonen leads the way after day 1, ahead of Hamilton, Bottas and Max.

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