Max Verstappen is still wondering how he had the speed to win the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna on Sunday. The Red Bull driver doesn’t think an intervention by the FIA made competitor McLaren slower.
“No, I don’t think it had anything to do with that,” Verstappen said on Thursday when asked in Monaco. After the race weekend in Italy, it was revealed that the FIA had tightened some rules regarding the floor of the cars through ‘technical directives’.
There was also a decision on all sorts of alleged means that McLaren would use to control the tire temperature. Both the FIA and McLaren already hinted that the team did not have to change anything on the car.
“It wasn’t that we were doing in Imola what McLaren was still doing in Miami,” Verstappen pointed to the earlier dominant performance of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in Florida. “If you take the average of Miami and Imola, we are still far behind,” he laughed. “And once Lando was in free air on Sunday, he was still slowly driving towards me. So we have to stay calm.”
The strength of McLaren, keeping control over the temperature of the rear tires, seemed simply less important in Imola. “Although I still felt that the tires were getting too hot for us,” Verstappen added. “But we were simply a bit faster than expected and they were a bit slower. The updates did their job and we made a very good step from Friday to Saturday.”
Bad Friday’s ‘not deliberate’
It is the story of this season at Red Bull. On Fridays, things usually don’t go well with Verstappen’s car. His technicians then examine everything again, the simulator driver puts in his hours at the factory and a better setting rolls out. According to Verstappen, there is no question of a bad preparation for the weekend.
“No, I wish I knew why Friday isn’t always great. We don’t do it on purpose. I swear,” Verstappen was firm.
“But we learn a lot on such a day. We do a lot of simulator work and have contact with the drivers who do that. I say what I want from the car. But it has little margin in which everything works well. If you are outside that, it quickly becomes difficult to drive. That translates into a bad Friday. Fortunately, the team can analyze well and make the right decisions and we usually turn it around.”
It is also often pointed to the engine, which Red Bull would run on a less enthusiastic setting on Friday than the competition. But Verstappen denies that: “No, it was really full throttle in Imola on Friday.”
Not Optimistic About Monaco
In Monaco there will be another Friday and again the search for the right setting on the narrow and bumpy track through the principality. Verstappen is not optimistic. “Bumps are still not optimal for our car, you have a lot of them here. There are many slow corners. We know that is not our strong point. We have to have fast corners. In Imola we were also relatively slow in the slow corners,” he summed up the substantiation of his low expectations.
“We are trying to make it a bit more drivable with the set-up. And then it remains to be seen what the feeling is,” Verstappen looked ahead.
He did remember that last year in qualifying he seemed to have the speed for pole, but that was also because he demanded extremely much from the car. “Then I still had a fast lap at the beginning of qualifying. But the moment it really mattered, the rear broke out. That happens when you are really at the limit of what the car can do.”
Brad Pitt Film Verstappen Will See later
Despite his lower expectations, Verstappen is looking forward to his second home race. The fact that he lives a stone’s throw from the circuit gave him the advantage that he could still sim race at home on Wednesday evening. While the other drivers attended a special screening of Brad Pitt’s new Formula 1 film, Verstappen was at home with daughter Lily.
“I had let Formula 1 know that I would not be there. I just wanted to spend more time at home. It was not an obligation either. It is private time, which I prefer to spend at home. We are already away so much,” he explained. “Especially now that the family is growing, that is important.”
“And I think that film will be released in about four weeks. Then I’ll download it.”