Verstappen: This year everything is going better than in 2022

After his victory in Suzuka, Max Verstappen spoke about the key moments of the race, about the RB19 car, which allows you to achieve superiority on almost all circuits, and about the team’s work this year.

Question: Max, this year you won a lot of races and gained an overwhelming lead. How sweet is the victory in Suzuka?
Max Verstappen: I think it was a good race. Obviously the track was a bit busy at the start in the first two corners, but after that the car was very pleasant to drive again. I was able to take good care of the tires and keep the degradation under control.

Of course, I understood that because we relied on Medium tires we would have a slightly different tactic than those who chose to run two segments on Hard, but everything turned out fine. The balance was perfect, the car accelerated out of the corners very well, so there were no problems during the race, and I think the win was a great result of the weekend.

Question: Has the car become even better than in the previous phases of the season?
MaxVerstappen: Hard to say. This weekend went well, but on other stages it happened that it was not very pleasant to drive. Sometimes, though, it’s not just about the car. Of course, much depends on our opponents, on how big our advantage is.

Q: You mentioned the moment of launch: can you tell us how it went? At one point it looked like you would end up off the track in the 1st corner…
MaxVerstappen: Yes, of course, in the right mirror I saw Oscar Piastri trying to attack me, and in the left mirror I noticed that Lando Norris was already really attacking. Then I tried to protect myself from Oscar, but he was still nearby, and I also saw Lando approaching from the left, and his speed was much faster.

He moved a little to the right and I realized I couldn’t go anywhere in this direction! So I tried to drive straight – of course I was lucky that nothing happened at that moment. Everything was on the edge, but that’s what racing is about. The start can go like this, and then of course we fought well in the first corner and for the second.

Fortunately for me, the grip in Turn 2 on the normal racing line was a little better and I didn’t have to try to go to the outside.

Question: What can you say about Red Bull Racing’s victory in the team competition? She won the constructors’ championship six rounds before the end of the season. Do you see a difference compared to last year?
Max Verstappen: Of course things are better now. This year the car allows us to achieve greater superiority, this was the case at all races with the exception of Singapore. This season is going incredibly well for everyone in the team, and I am of course very proud to be working with these great people – both on the track and especially at the base in Milton Keynes.

Q: What is the team’s biggest strength this year?
MaxVerstappen: I think it has to do with the fact that everyone knows their role and plays it well. It is simply a matter of proper interaction between people performing a common task together, and effective communication between them – this is what allows us to achieve such high results.

Question: You say the team has noticeably improved compared to last year: are there any noticeable changes within the team?
MaxVerstappen: I think the car is just better this year. I think our specialists work at about the same level and we know they are really good. Only now we are dealing with an even more efficient car, which also behaves more predictably on the track. With the exception of Singapore, it behaved very predictably on all other circuits and was very pleasant to drive.