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Verstappen sends Red Bull a clear message: 'Not how we want to race'
- Savannah Lenz
Max Verstappen was not able to make it on the podium steps after a difficult weekend with Red Bull Racing. After the Chinese Grand Prix, he talked to Sky Sports about how he tried his best to get the maximum results possible at the Shanghai International Circuit.
About the overall race, Verstappen said, "I expected a tyre grip but not balance. Balance is the same, but more tyre grip, where maybe others just plateaued a bit more, and then the lap times were more promising for us, at least. It was also, of course, a bit more fun to drive, like a few battles, because the first half of the race was quite tough."
Regardless of the better lap times towards the end, he still was not in a position to fight for the podium. "We just set out to do our own pace. Before in the sprint, I tried to keep up with him, but then my tyres died. So I just did my own pace. The tyres were still in decent shape when I had to pit because others were pitting around me."
Verstappen: 'That's not how we want to race, is it?'
Before the start of the season, Verstappen held a 1,029-day championship lead record. Now, Verstappen is one point away from losing his second place in the driver's championship standing.
About how the race went he said, "That is also not how we want to race, right? I want to try and keep up and hang in there. A lot to analyze but at least the second stint was a lot more positive, more promising as well for us, and I hope that we could take some learnings out of that going into Japan."
When Verstappen was asked if it was a matter of Red Bull Racing making improvements he said, "Simple to say when you don't really know where to find it or how to find it at the moment, but at least that last thing I would say gives a bit more of a clearer picture, but we'll go through all the data and we have 10 days. Hopefully we can learn a little bit more and be a bit more competitive in 10 days."
If Red Bull can't produce a winning car, will Verstappen look to leave? He said, "I hear this all the time, but for me, nothing changes. I'm actually very relaxed, I'm very positive in my mind. I'm enjoying life, so every time I jump in the car I just try to do the best I can and I'm not thinking about anything else, to be honest. I feel good in life in general, if that's in the car, outside the car, and that's actually what matters the most."
This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder.
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