Verstappen: The race in Zandvoort is one of the most difficult

Max Verstappen confidently won the race at home and dominated the weekend…

Q: Max, what an unusual race. So many events, so much excitement. How nice is it to win in such circumstances?
Max Verstappen: Yes, it’s cool! The race was hectic. If it starts to rain just as the cars take up their positions on the grid, it’s difficult to make the right decisions. I thought with the team that it was raining but maybe it wasn’t strong enough to switch to intermediate tyres, so together we decided to stay for one more lap.

In the end, this decision turned out to be wrong, but it made the race more interesting: I had to close the gap and make a few overtakes. Fortunately, in a few laps I closed the gap by about 10 seconds. This played an important role.

After the switch to slick tires worked flawlessly, it was a joy to drive. I already thought I would finish easily when after 10-15 laps I was told that it started to rain again. And this time he was pretty strong. We had a pit stop, but after one lap the intermediate tires couldn’t take it anymore and we switched to heavy rain tyres.

The problem is that intermediate tires are much better than rain tyres, so even in such a downpour you want to go to the intermediate tires – they are much faster. But at one point there was so much water on the track that it became dangerous. Now I understand that the decision to stop the race with red flags at a time when many people run intermediate tires in heavy rain was the right one.

Q: Was the car competitive in all conditions?
Max Verstappen: Yes, and on intermediates, rubber and on slicks.

Q: What were the most intense moments? Were you worried about a possible attack from Fernando after the restart at the end of the race?
Max Verstappen: The first laps on the slicks were not easy. You don’t want to fly off the track immediately after a pit stop and you don’t know how the grip will be on a drying track.

Naturally, the final restart with six laps to go was exciting. Our tires don’t warm up that fast, Fernando pressed hard, I saw him in the mirrors, but then the tires warmed up and everything worked.

Question You have surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s record – nine wins in a row, and your team remains unbeatable this season. What do you think?
Max Verstappen: It was one of the hardest races and I really wanted to win it. I didn’t think this would be the ninth win in a row. Now I’m happy with it, but even more happy to win in front of my fans.

Q: Max, after Miami you went to another level compared to Sergio and the rest. Can you explain why this happened?
Max Verstappen: During the weekend in Baku I learned a lot. I understood how to tune the car, how to get more out of it. I didn’t win that race, but I tried a lot. This made the car not stable enough from a distance, but at some point I found the right rhythm. Then I damaged the tires badly, but I realized that the solutions I found would come in handy in the next Grand Prix. Since then they help me on every number.