Verstappen: Sergio is serious this year

Commenting on the results of the Baku weekend, Max Verstappen stressed that he and Sergio Perez, his Red Bull Racing teammate, have a good relationship, but their rivalry will continue until the end of the season.

Q: This is the 81st podium in your Formula 1 career and by this indicator you are ahead of Ayrton Senna, who finished in the top three 80 times. What would you say about Sunday’s race and the Baku weekend in general?
Max Verstappen: Overall it was somehow fussy but with this set up of the weekend it was to be expected. If we talk about the race, maybe in the first segment I should have been more aggressive in terms of working with the rubber. I think I was too careful.

That’s why Sergio was right behind me and then of course we made the decision to pit. I want to say that when I saw a car stopped in the relegation zone, I thought the driver was just blocking the wheels when braking.

It will be necessary to analyze this episode, because now it is clear that I just couldn’t see that car (Nick de Vries’ AlphaTauri), although it was clear that one of the wheels on it was damaged. Of course, the decision to make a pit stop affected my race.

When the safety car left the track, I tried to put pressure on Sergio, tried to overtake him to use the DRS, and at one point I was close. But when I was right behind him, apparently my tires started to give out, which was too early, because we had such a long distance to go.

In general, at some point I decided to stay in this position so as not to completely wear out the tires. At the same time, it was very difficult to find the optimal balance in the corners – from the entrance to the top. And on the Baku circuit, if everything is done right, a lot of time can be gained at this stage of the cornering.

I first had problems with understeer, then with oversteer. So during the race I was constantly trying to change the settings with the switches on the steering wheel, trying to make the car behave more correctly. I think I found a good compromise in the end, because the last 10 laps I was riding a lot more confident.

In the end I am happy that I came second. Of course you always want to win, but sometimes you need the weekends to develop in this way, because that teaches a lot and helps to understand the car better.

Q: How would you compare the pace of the top three cars? Do you think Ferrari managed to close the gap somewhat?
Max Verstappen: I think we have a pretty fast car. I don’t remember exactly, but I think we were 20 seconds ahead of them at the finish? Of course we attacked with full force, but those who rode behind us also did not go unpunished. Of course we try to make the car even faster, because the season is long and there are races on different tracks. But overall this weekend was positive for us.

Question You said that before the safety car took off, you saw Nick de Vries’ car stop on the track, but you weren’t sure if he could continue. But as far as I know, you counted on the team, assessing the situation, to anticipate the emergence of a safety car. Is that why you’re saying that you and the team should analyze this episode?
Max Verstappen: Yes, I meant I saw a stationary car, but I saw it on the screens and there it was impossible to see if all the wheels were in place. I want to say that the team had more information on this. But we’re going to analyze everything and see if we could have done something different then.

Question Many riders said that the length of the DRS zone had been shortened to no avail, as it affected the number of overtakes. Do you think it is necessary to reduce the DRS zone on this route? And would the races be more spectacular if they left the previous configuration?
Max Verstappen: Every year cars generate more and more downforce and if nothing changes it will be more and more difficult to overtake. But this is also due to the weight of modern cars, because they are quite heavy, and at low speeds it has become more difficult to chase an opponent, because as soon as the car destabilizes, it immediately starts to slide.

The load on the tires has increased, causing the rubber to overheat more. In addition, new generation cars require very tight suspension settings. I remember, for example, in 2015 or 2016 in corners it was sometimes possible to choose different trajectories, it was possible to attack the curbs more strongly. Not that the cars had a soft suspension back then, but still softer than now. And then it was possible to apply other control techniques, while modern cars simply do not allow that.

On urban roads, all this is more apparent, because here you need to drive with maximum confidence and the balance when entering corners should be as ideal as possible. And today at the start of the race I had problems with this, so I tried to change the settings.

Q: Sergio is now just six points behind you – how much does this threaten your plans to win a third title? Can you maintain a normal relationship when the two of you are fighting for championship victory?
Max Verstappen: Absolutely, we have the fastest car now, but I’ve been in similar situations before and now it all depends on how stable you are. We all understand this. The season is long, we have to race on circuits that are very different from each other.

But you can see that Sergio has really serious intentions this year. He’s doing really well and it’s nice to see him. He is driving more and more confidently, he is quite comfortable in the team and we all like that. In my opinion, we are having a good time with him off the track.

And it’s also important to emphasize this: when someone does a great job, it should be recognized and appreciated. This is exactly what happened today. We will keep fighting until the end of the season, but that’s okay. We’ve been doing this all our lives.