Max Verstappen expanded on the turnaround in F1 Qatar GP win, but outside that he was unhappy how things happened on Saturday with George Russell.
The turnaround that Red Bull and Verstappen had from sprint to main race in F1 Qatar GP was one to witness. The work done by Sergio Perez in the sprint eventually helped the Dutchman after he got extra motivation via antics of Mercedes and Russell on Saturday to get him a penalty.
Verstappen was not happy how Russell and Mercedes pushed for a penalty when speaking at the stewards, but were different outside the room. That didn’t sit well with the Dutchman, who was outspoken about the Brit in the press conference, even stating that he lost respect for him.
The Dutchman was determined on Sunday to get the position back and win the grand prix which he did. He didn’t forget complaining about Lando Norris either when he didn’t slow enough for the double waved yellow flag. That eased the pressure on Verstappen, being piled on by the Brit.
Team boss Christian Horner wasn’t too pleased with the hysterics undertaken by Russell and Mercedes either, as he noted on how they got hold of Norris. The Brit also reflected on the drive from Verstappen and the turnaround that happened after changes made to the car.
Win after the weekend start –
Verstappen: “I mean, it’s never straightforward. I think in the first stint as well, you know, with Lando being there, honestly, I think the gap has been between 1.6 and 1.9 seconds, the whole stint, which you can’t afford to make a mistake. And he didn’t, I didn’t, and we were just pushing flat out at one point. And it was honestly really enjoyable to drive because, of course, most of the races that we do, the tyres deg and you have to manage a lot. It felt like here you could push a bit harder and the track as well, the layout, I enjoy a lot. The grip is very good on the track. So yeah, that was a great stint. Then, of course, the second stint was a bit more stop-start with the Safety Cars involved and then of course the temperature as well in the tyres was very tricky because my middle restart wasn’t particularly great. I tried something else but the grip was… The tyres basically were too cold, so I just kept on sliding and having no traction.
“So that was not ideal. Besides that, the pace was good. A dry race like this for us has been a long time, so I’m very happy with the improvements that we made compared to the start of the weekend. I mean, the last few races in the dry, we haven’t been particularly strong on managing the tyres. And that’s why I was a little bit careful after qualifying. But yeah, it’s been nice. I mean, it’s still not where I would like it to be in terms of the behaviour of the car compared to, let’s say, last year. But at least now, you know, we are back in a fight to win races. So if we can just learn from this year’s car, take the positives, of course, from also last year and try to build a better car, I’m sure that we can be again very competitive next year.”
Horner: “We ran a bit heavier downforce with Checo in the sprint race, we didn’t adopt that with Max, it was more mechanical set-up changes that were made to Max’s car. Look, all credit to the team in Qatar and all the guys in performance and engineering back in Milton Keynes that turned it around. It is one of the biggest turnarounds that I have seen. We were fighting the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg on Saturday afternoon and by evening we were in pole position.”
Biggest swing in a weekend –
Verstappen: “It’s probably been one of the biggest, yeah, where you’re fighting Haas in the sprint to fighting for the win in the main race. So, yeah, it’s been quite a big swing in performance.”
Reaction to penalty, Russell –
Verstappen: “Honestly, I mean… I couldn’t believe that I got it. But in a way, I was also like, yeah, I’m not surprised anymore in the world that I live in. So, yeah. You’re not happy with it. But at one point or another, you have to just turn the page. But, yeah, it wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen, because I think that’s the first time that in a slow lap someone has been penalised. While, actually, I just tried to be nice. So maybe I shouldn’t be nice. But the thing is that, you know, well, being nice, because at the end of the season, everything is more or less decided, for me especially, I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, you know, being nice, basically you get a penalty. And that’s what I tried to explain as well. But I just felt like I was talking to a brick wall. So there’s not much that was possible for whatever reason.
“Well, I think I really spoke about valid reasons of what happened and it was clear cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tyres and stuff so they had to push anyway and I didn’t want to then cause a scene into a last corner. and then, you know, no one had a lap. So very, very surprising. And then the second part of the question. Yeah, I was quite surprised when sitting there in the Stewards’ room, what was all going on. Honestly, very disappointing because I think we’re all here, we respect each other a lot and of course, I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life, in my career with people that have raced and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. And that for me… I lost all respect.”
Horner: “Let’s just say he wasn’t enamoured with the decision. It was a very strange decision because the circumstances of yesterday, both cars were on slow laps and I did feel that George and Mercedes made a big meal out of it. It was unprecedented on a slow lap for Max to end up with a one-place penalty. But he converted the dirtiest side of the grid into one of his best starts of the year and was determined that wherever George was going to brake, he was going to brake later. And converted that grid position into the lead by the end of Turn 1. Max, I think he was disappointed.
“I mean, if you look at it objectively, one could argue that perhaps George was driving a little too quickly on a slow lap with two slow cars ahead of him. So maybe he was driving recklessly. It was frustrating to get that penalty but he was already motivated to win this race and I think it only added to his enthusiasm to get off the line well. “I think yesterday’s [Saturday’s] penalty was more based on hysterics from George, who has been quite hysterical this weekend. I think there was a little bit of gamesmanship going on in that.”
Pushing for penalty re Norris –
Verstappen: “Well, I mean, I knew that I lifted because I saw the double yellow. And I know that, of course, if I wouldn’t have lifted, it would have been investigated straight away. So you’re just on it. I mean, yeah, I asked if he lifted because he had a DRS, I think, from a backmarker at the same time as well. And then, of course, when we came out of Turn 1, I saw that he was a lot closer. So I just asked the team to check it. I mean, it was just a normal question. And I know, of course, with double yellows, they’re quite strict.”
Horner: “We have the GPS data live, so we can see the speed compare. When you look at the speed profile comparison of Lando versus Max, you can see DRS wide open. He was still absolutely flat out, and there was a double waved yellow there. With Max having spent a little bit of intimate time with the stewards on Saturday, he was very keen that it was looked at thoroughly. He kept reminding us, asking if it had been looked at. That then gets passed by the Sporting Director to the Race Director.”
Here’s Max Verstappen fending off Lando Norris: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-qatar-grand-prix-verstappen-fends-off-norris-for-the-lead-on-the-safety-car-restart.1817259576819308959
Here’s race start: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-qatar-grand-prix-verstappen-and-norris-jump-russell-on-the-race-start-as-two-cars-crash-out.1817255595215847572
Here’s FIA on their decisions
Here’s how F1 Qatar GP panned out
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact