Max Verstappen explains the brakes issues he faced in F1 US GP and managing it while adds on the hard tyre situation.
It was a rare uneasy F1 US GP for Red Bull’s Verstappen. Having had a dominant run in the sprint, the Dutchman had to start from sixth on Sunday in the main race. He made a steady start which wasn’t as quick as he usually does to clear the cars ahead.
But eventually he got through them one by one and got on the tail of McLaren’s Lando Norris. He passed him and kept the lead even after his pit stop. But it wasn’t an easy going for Verstappen who had brake problems from early in the grand prix.
It was hurting him where he had to manage it and the hard compound in the last stint didn’t help either. “I mean, we had a good start, and then the first stint, I tried to be patient but, at the same time, following for so long did hurt my tyres a little bit,” said Verstappen. “But at the same time, I was struggling a lot with the brakes, compared to.
“So, I couldn’t really be that nice on them, and the tyres under braking, and just being very inconsistent. And that basically carried on for the rest of the race, where, compared to yesterday, that was quite a big factor because I never really had a lot of confidence to be consistent under braking.
“Nevertheless, I think as a team we did the right strategy, we pitted at the right time and basically, because of that, I could work my way forward. So, yeah, I think we did everything correct – but I was hoping for a little bit more pace – because in the sprint I think we were a lot more competitive,” summed up Verstappen.
Red Bull and even Verstappen noted that they had changed the brakes from sprint to the main race. It is unclear why he was facing such issues which he had to manage. “Just Lap One,” he stated. “And that was the only thing that we changed from sprint. That made it very difficult. I couldn’t get on top of it. It’s very rare that I have it in F1 – but it did come up, and just made it a bit more difficult.
“I just couldn’t feel the brakes. I very easily locked the fronts and I tried to adjust it and I was locking the rears. And this is something very weird, because normally, I never really have issues with braking. So this is just something that we need to understand, why that was. Because, you know, when you have locking fronts or rears, you’re killing also your tyres.
“So that definitely didn’t help, compared to sprint, because I think yesterday, the feeling I had with the car was really amazing. And today, it was not that great. But nevertheless, you know, we still won the race. So that’s the most important [thing]. And the talking under braking?
“When you’re struggling already under braking and you don’t feel that confident, I politely asked not to be spoken to. You’re laughing but I said please when I asked,” summed up Verstappen, who noted that he wasn’t that worried about losing the race even though the hard compound wasn’t working as the way to his liking.
“Once I was in the lead, I think the gap was OK – but with a few laps to go, there was some backmarkers, and my tyres were not feeling that great,” said Verstappen. “The Hard tyre was not very good today, but I think the gap was just big enough and not too many laps left.”
Here’s how F1 US GP panned out
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