Max Verstappen: Everything went better than we expected

Max Verstappen: Everything went better than we expected

      Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix for the fourth time in a row and considers this achievement especially important, because the Red Bull Racing team has not yet managed to eliminate the car's weaknesses, but this victory shows that it is on the right track.

      Question: Congratulations on your victory! After the finish, your race engineer called it perfect. And how did you perceive everything from the cockpit?Max Verstappen: Yes, it was a fun race. I want to say that I saw two orange cars in the mirrors all the way, especially in the last 20 laps, the McLaren drivers attacked very actively. The degradation of the rubber was felt more and more strongly, but it was necessary to continue to fight almost to the limit.

      To be honest, everything went better than we expected. It probably helped us a little that the asphalt temperature was already slightly lower, so the tires were overheating less. In general, I'm just very proud of this result.

      But we need to start with the fact that the foundations were laid back on Saturday, and we started the race from pole position, and on this track it is very difficult to chase rivals closely. Every year the cars get better and better, they generate more and more downforce – probably, all this also affects, you know?

      In addition, there is only one DRS zone in Suzuka, so it is very difficult to overtake here. Plus, the degradation of the rubber seems to be quite small, so a single pit stop is enough. But we are happy with this victory, we worked as efficiently as possible this weekend, so I am proud of our whole team.

      Q: At what point in the race did you start thinking you could win?Max Verstappen: It's impossible to say for sure because it wasn't clear how long the tyres would last. But maybe five laps before the finish, I thought, "OK, the tires are holding up fine, within the operating range. Now the main thing is just to make no mistakes and everything will be fine."

      Q: The closest Lando got to your car was when you were both leaving the pit lane. Can you share your point of view on what happened there?Max Verstappen: I think the grass to the right of the pit lane exit wasn't very well cut, and I think Lando saw it and decided to clean up. (laughs)

      Question: Will there be any more comments?Max Verstappen: What do you want me to say? Next question!

      Q: Is this success more related to the features of the track, or do you think you can now claim victory in every race?Max Verstappen: I don't think so, but to be honest, as I said, we are happy with this victory. It is very difficult to overtake in Suzuka, but in Bahrain we will have completely different difficulties. There, the rubber works with very heavy loads, and it also overheats.

      We have a lot of work ahead of us, but today's result shows that if we do everything right, we can be successful. Hopefully we can improve the balance of the car in the corners, and then maybe we can improve the pace overall.

      Question: Your performance in qualifying and the race at this track is described as perfect, and you have received very commendable reviews. Do you also think that these successes have some special character?Max Verstappen: Yes, but what I mean is that all this shows that I really support the common cause, although, of course, the beginning of the year was not easy for our team. You understand that in terms of results, we are not yet at the level we want to be at. I guess it's not a secret.

      But this weekend was really great. Sometimes there are times when you manage to do a few laps perfectly. Fortunately, the balance was already better during qualifying. In general, we must continue to work, and I intend to just focus on my results in order to gradually achieve further improvements.

      We know what is hindering us so far, so we must make efforts to minimize these limitations. The shortcomings of the car have not been eliminated, but I hope that we will be able to eliminate them soon.

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Max Verstappen: Everything went better than we expected

Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix and considers this achievement especially important, because Red Bull Racing failed to eliminate the car's weaknesses, but the victory shows that it is on the right track...