Max is not afraid of anyone: "But we still have to see where we are"

Published on 08 March 2017 by Stefan Meens

During the second pre-season test at Barcelona, Max Verstappen previewed the upcoming season at an event organized by his personal sponsor Exact. After being introduced by CEO Erik van der Meijden, Max shared his thoughts with the visitors.

“At the moment, it’s still difficult to judge where we are but we’re feeling positive. Because the car is still so new, we’re constantly developing. The engineers have a lot of new stuff to work with so the gains are bigger. Come Saturday in Melbourne, we’ll really know where we are.”

Regarding Red Bull Racing’s main rivals, Max is ready for the fight. “We not afraid of anybody. Mercedes and Ferrari will be quick so we have to wait and see. We don’t know how much fuel others are using so it’s too early to judge.”

In his first two years in Formula 1, Max already established himself as a wet weather ace. But it does not automatically mean he prefers rain. “We’ve tested the wet weather tires last week and it was very slippery so hopefully it won’t rain. However, I like racing in the rain and our car is good in those kinds of conditions”, referred Max to his rain masterclass in Brazil last year.

With fond memories of Interlagos, the Dutchman is looking forward to the new season, in particular Spa-Francorchamps. “It’s close to the Netherlands and there were thousands of Dutch fans last year. Hopefully we’ll see even more orange this year. I’m sure it’s going to be the highlight of the year. Hopefully the result will reflect that.”