Max ahead of Spa: 'We learn and move on'

Published on 25 July 2024 by Stefan Meens

The main topic of discussion at Thursday’s media session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, was last weekend’s race at the Hungaroring. In a busy Spa-Francorchamps paddock, Max Verstappen reflected on an eventful weekend in Hungary.

“I think we got the strategy wrong”, said the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver. “I’m very driven, like everyone in our team. We always strive to get the perfect result, which is really difficult to achieve in all the races. We almost managed it last year. But when things don’t go to plan, I think it’s normal to vent your frustration. That’s what I was doing. When you’re full of adrenaline in a race in which things aren’t going as planned, you will vent your frustration. We talked about not getting the optimum out of the race afterwards. We learn from it and move on.”

The Hungaroring saw an updated RB20 line up on the grid. “Reflecting back, I think we could’ve done things different, also in terms of set-up. We’re still looking into some stuff, so hopefully we learn more. Maybe we’ve not made the most of the upgrade. Hopefully we have a smoother weekend here in Belgium”, explained the Dutchman who also noted that not all parts of the update will feature in Spa. “Some parts are circuit specific.”

An added challenge awaits the Dutchman as he will likely incur a ten place grid penalty due to having to add another power unit to the champion’s parts pool. “Of course, I knew at some point it had to happen”, said Max, referring to an engine failure at the Canadian Grand Prix.

“Of course we’ll see on Sunday if Spa is a good track to take the penalty hit. Some tracks are better than others. You don’t want to serve a penalty on a street track, so it’ll most likely be here.”

The potential grid penalty will significantly hamper Max’s opportunities to fight for the victory. “If you look at the last two races, we weren’t the quickest so I don’t think we’re in for the win with a ten place penalty. But anything can happen in racing, so we’ll try to make the most of it.”

“I don’t know how competitive we’ll be. There are some patches of new tarmac so we’ll need to see how the tyres react. There are a lot of question marks, including the weather. A lot of rain is expected for Friday and Saturday. We’ll see what happens.”

For those wanting to join the Orange Army in the Ardennes, there are still tickets available for the Max Verstappen Grandstand at Pouhon at https://www.verstappen.com/tickets/belgian-gp

Contest Belgian GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Verstappen.com Racing cap!