Max on Friday at the Hungaroring: 'Felt good in the car, but still work to do.'

Published on 30 July 2021 by Stefan Meens

Following Friday practicefor the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ziggo Sport’s Olav Mol caught up with Max Verstappen to discuss the opening day at the Hungaroring.

How did you feel in the car today? Max: “It all felt good. The brake I use in my simulator is set up pretty hard so I could already practice to see if my knee or ankle would cope. So when I got in the car, it all felt good. My neck is fine too so it’s all good.”

Your dad said that the scans showed you do have brains? “Yes, it’s good to know they’re there!”

Today was important for Honda to find out if the engine you used at Silverstone survived the crash. “Yes, it all went well. When I got out of the car in Silverstone, it didn’t look good, but amazingly the power-unit survived. That’s great of course.”

Is the Hungaroring, like Abu Dhabi, a track where you have to save the tyres in the first sector to be quick in the second and third? “In Abu Dhabi there is more sand and most corners near the end of the lap are ‘off camber’ which is challenging for the tyres as they heat up. Here in Budapest we have more grip, so it’s less of an issue.”

Do you enjoy this track, does it have a nice rhythm? “Yes, I really like this track. I often visit outside of Formula 1 commitments because it’s a technical track and it’s a great track to learn to drive better. The second sector especially; if you mess up one corner, you’ll pay for it in the next so you can learn a lot.”

How do you reflect on Friday practice? “Not bad, but we have to improve. First practice wasn’t bad. The balance wasn’t bad but I wanted a different one and we weren’t able to improve on that in FP2, so something to look at.”

Did you not do any long runs? “Initially, I had too much wing, after which I was in traffic most of the time. The balance wasn’t right, so we’ll have to see. We have work to do, but I’m confident, even though it will be close.”

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