Max Verstappen said he plans to race away from Formula 1 again in the upcoming break between Grands Prix, and other things that « make me smile ». There wasn’t much grinning going on under his helmet at Suzuka on Sunday after qualifying 11th and then struggling for race pace on the way to a lowly eighth-placed finish.
He has scored just 12 points in the opening three rounds of the season in a Red Bull car that is a long way off the pace. And after Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix he said: « I don’t think it was very good. Yesterday was a disaster and today I just maximised my race. The feeling in the car is exactly the same was exactly the same as in qualifying, where I was just trying to hang on, basically. »
Some have suggested that Red Bull’s struggles might be one of the main reasons why Verstappen has been one of the more vocal critics on the grid of F1’s new generation of cars. However, he dismissed that notion as he made it clear it is the style of driving required by the regulations which is his biggest issue, rather than the performance.
He explained: « You can have a bad balance, but that doesn’t take away from how we have to race and, in general, the whole system. I’ve commented on that a few times. That’s the limitation. I think a lot of drivers are speaking out on it. Of course, I would like to win but I can also accept if I’m driving P7. It’s just the way I’m driving in P7, with all the systems and everything, it’s not a lot of fun. »
Verstappen enjoyed himself a lot more a week earlier, when he was at the Nurburgring driving in a four-hour GT race. He qualified on pole and won the race alongside co-drivers Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella, though that result was later stripped from them as the car was disqualified for having used too many sets of tyres.
Regardless, Verstappen still said he had a lot of fun as he prepares for the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring race in May. And he strongly suggested on Sunday that he is set to have another go at the Nordschleife – there is an NLS race scheduled for April 11 – as he takes advantage of the large break in the F1 season caused by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.
Verstappen said: « I’ll do some more racing, some stuff that makes me smile. And as well speak to the team to try to find more pace and a more stable balance, because this is not sustainable for us as a team. We need to work hard our problems and also bring some big improvements. »
On that note, Red Bull will be one of the teams especially keen to use that break and the extra resources they have in the budget cap, thought savings made by not having to travel and complete two race weekends in the Middle East, to speed up their car development processes and give Verstappen something he can hopefully enjoy driving more at the Miami Grand Prix in early May.
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