Max ahead of Belgian GP: 'Current form not a surprise'
Published on 29 August 2019 by Stefan Meens
Sporting his new orange driver cap, a special edition for the Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen joined the Thursday FIA press conference ahead of the race weekend. The other novelty is his new team mate, Alex Albon, seated to the Dutchman’s left.
“I’ve been in a similar situation to him in 2016 when I got promoted into Red Bull Racing during the season. Time will tell how it will work out for Alex. He’s a nice guy and I’ve known him for years. We raced in karts in 2010. He is quick and he seems to look forward to the challenge.”
This weekend’s Grand Prix, held at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit, is the first race after the summer break. Does Max fancy his chances? “I don’t know. I think in general it will be a bit tougher for us because of the long straights, but even in Silverstone, for example, we were still competitive, so we just needs to find a good balance in the car. Of course, around here Sectors 1 and 3 are pretty much flat out and in Sector 2 there are a lot of corners, so you have to find the right compromise there.”
How about the chances for the remainder of the season? “I always try to do the best I can. I think it’s just going to be a bit track dependent for us. Where are we going to be a bit more competitive? I’m expecting this to be a bit more tricky, and especially Monza but from there onwards, and especially with upgrades coming to the car. Of course, everybody is doing that but I think, in recent years we’ve always been quite strong in developing the car throughout the year.”
You have had a good run of results. Are you driving better than ever? “I think it’s quite natural. You just get older and more experienced so for me it’s not a big surprise what is happening at the moment. Just a natural process that you go through, that you become better. I think it would be bad if you were already declining at 21.”
Finally, judging by the thousands of fans sporting orange, a Grand Prix in Belgium is pretty much a home race for the Dutchman. It must be an amazing feeling? “Well, I think over the year I get to meet quite a few but of course it’s amazing to see that, to have such a big following. Of course, I think also the colour helps quite a bit. It’s quite easy to spot a Dutch fan around the track. I would say it’s a positive motivation for the weekend because I don’t experience any more pressure through it because at the end of the day, you always try to do the best you can so it’s not changing for this weekend. The more the better, of course. They get quite crazy with flares and stuff so I remember once going up the Kemmel straight, it was almost turning orange but yeah, it’s great to see and of course I’m happy to have such a big following. I hope over the years that it will only become bigger.”
Belgian GP contest: win a signed orange Max Verstappen driver cap and lanyard!
