Verstappen expecting Red Bull to go "full send" in Abu Dhabi

F1 News

9 December 2020 at 12:53
Last update 9 December 2020 at 19:05
  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen had a bad race in Bahrain, as he was forced to retire after having to swerve to avoid Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez. This while the Dutchman was in good shape and had a chance to get on the podium in the Red Bull. Now that Formula 1 has traveled to Abu Dhabi for the final race and is looking ahead, some frustration has stayed behind at Verstappen.

Good race was won by Red Bull

In the preview for Red Bull Racing Verstappen said: "It’s still frustrating, we had a quick car and I was looking forward to having a good race for the Team. There were three times during that opening lap that I tried to avoid contact but everyone seemed pretty aggressive and there wasn’t much more I could do."

"I respect Charles as a driver and these things happen to us all at some point but my race was destroyed and that is also not nice for the Team as they also deserved a good result. The grid penalty for the next race doesn’t really mean much now as we can’t change the result but these things happen and we all move on."

A normal track

Yas Marina is a much longer track compared to the outer loop in Bahrain and Verstappen is happy to be able to race on a normal circuit again. "I’m looking forward to Abu Dhabi and I enjoy the track. Coming from such a short circuit without many corners it will be good to get back to a more normal track with 21 corners."

"We finished second here last year and we have nothing to lose this weekend so it will be ‘full send’."

"It has been a crazy season and we now have one last push in Abu Dhabi and I think many of the team members are ready for a break. People always ask if it has been a hard year for the drivers but actually it’s the Team that it is hard for as they fly earlier than us and have to prepare everything before we even arrive.

"It’s been so intense for them and although we all love racing everyone is ready to be with their families and enjoy some time out.

"Although being second or third in the Drivers’ Championship doesn’t really make a difference to me, we will of course still be pushing for another win. As long as the Team are pushing, which you can see from the upgrades and fastest pit stops, then I am of course pushing," said the Dutchman.