Max: 'Confident ahead of the upcoming races'
Published on 23 September 2019 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen reviewed his third place at the Singapore Grand Prix in an interview with Ziggo Sport’s Peptalk.
“My start was not too bad. At least we didn’t lose a spot”, explains Max. “Then, you try to stay out of the dirty air, but we didn’t have the speed. You can’t attack and are only able to follow.”
It means that the result somewhat disappointed the Dutchman. “We came to win so third is not ideal. We kind of saw it coming on Friday that we didn’t have the outright pace. We lacked in qualifying so you know you won’t be able to overtake in the race. It’s shame but we couldn’t make more of it.”
The race was interrupted by three safety cars, which made the Grand Prix even more challenging than normal “It’s a long race, the toughest of the season. The tyres quickly cool down and you have very little grip. You have to try to warm up the tyres which is actually tougher than just lapping the track. The rear steps out easily as a result of cold tyres and a lot of power. You really have to stay focussed.”
In the closing stages, Max had to deal with Lewis Hamilton breathing down the Dutchman’s neck. “He was quicker. We managed to get ahead with a good strategy call but my tyres were done by the end of the race. His tyres had done eight laps less and I didn’t have much traction. But I used my batteries well to defend so he never really had a chance.”
Max headed to the pits at the same time as Sebastian Vettel, with the German ultimately taking the win. If Vettel had not stopped in the same lap, the result could have been different, reckons Max. “I was struggling with my tyres so I told the team to box. I think Ferrari must’ve heard that so they called in Vettel straight away. That’s why he managed to undercut Leclerc. Ferrari did not have a choice to safeguard their first and second positions.”
Asked what areas of the RB15 need to be improved, Max answered: “Before this race, our car has been competitive; maybe not always for a win but that’s not always because of the car. However, we clearly lacked something in Singapore so we’ll have to analyse what the cause is. I think we might have gotten something wrong set-up wise. I have some ideas so now it’s important to get it right in Sochi. Of course I am confident that we’re able to show something nice in the upcoming races.”
