Max Verstappen: Toto says a lot of nice things about me!

At the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen achieved his third victory of the season and third in a row in Suzuka. After the finish, the Red Bull Racing driver summarized the results of the weekend, made it clear that the team would not maintain such a lead at all circuits and commented on the decision to hold the race weekend in China in a sprint format.

Question: Max, congratulations on your win. Can you tell us how the race went for you?
Max Verstappen: Yes, a very, very good win in my opinion. At the start of the weekend it took me a few laps to find my way around the car and before qualifying we made some adjustments that helped today.

After the first stint, the team again made small adjustments, which made me feel more comfortable and allowed me to go faster when necessary. When I had to keep an eye on the tires, I did. The car was a pleasure to drive on both Medium and Hard tires. It’s even better on Hard, but we were competitive in both setups.

Q: Can you tell us more about the settings adjustments? It’s just that at one point your race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase said on the radio: “I don’t want to say this, but I warned you!” What are we talking about?
Max Verstappen (laughs): We were talking about settings, and he asked me, “Are you sure this is the setting you want?” And I answered him, “Yes, I am quite sure.” But in the end it turned out that I was wrong and he was right.

In a way it influenced me. I wasn’t happy with the balance, but I still tried to do laps with consistent times without shouting anything back at him. For us, everything works out that way somehow, but we have an excellent relationship with him.

Q: You took another win in dominant style, although after qualifying you were unsure of the long-term pace. Were you surprised by the speed of the car?
Max Verstappen: Before qualifying I wasn’t happy with the car, but afterwards we made some adjustments. I cannot go into detail, but the measures taken today helped. And thanks to this, the car has become much more pleasant to drive and control.

Q: After a disappointing weekend in Melbourne, are you relieved to have won Honda’s home race?
Max Verstappen: I wouldn’t call it relief, but I am happy with the victory, the victory in Japan. This is an important Grand Prix for our team. We have a lot of fans here and it’s great to win on Honda’s home track. Three of our cars even earned points today.

There was a little problem in Melbourne, but today we did what we wanted to do. This is what the team strives for every weekend.

Question: Toto Wolff said after the finish that no one will overtake you this season. Maybe Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz have a different opinion on this, but what do you think? Do you already have the title in your pocket?
Max Verstappen: Toto has been saying a lot of nice things about me lately! No, I don’t know – there’s still a very long season ahead and I don’t want to think about it too much right now. I want to take a one race, one weekend approach.

I know there will be races on circuits that don’t suit us very well, but there will also be circuits where we will be fast, so we have to take advantage of that and earn maximum points for the team. On circuits that are not particularly suitable for us, we still have to strive for the maximum, even if other teams can win on them.

Q: It’s no secret that you don’t like sprint weekends. What do you think of the decision to hold a sprint in China on a circuit where no race has been held for years and the team faces many unknowns but will have only one training session to answer all questions?
Max Verstappen: Yes, a very reasonable point. I’m not happy with this decision, because we haven’t driven on this track for a long time and don’t know what to expect. Therefore, it would be better to spend the weekend in China according to the usual format.

On the other hand, a sprint can intensify the battle, which is probably what the organizers are trying to achieve. From the point of view of pilots and sporting results, this is not the smartest decision, but we will see.

I have always enjoyed flying in Shanghai. I hope we prepare well and that we don’t have to make many changes to the car during the weekend.

Q: You said that there will be races at tracks that are not very suitable for you. Can you name specific routes?
Max Verstappen: If we remember history, it is more difficult for us on city roads. But our car has already become better at low speeds.

On city highways, not only efficiency at low speeds is important, but also efficiency during acceleration and efficiency when passing curbs. In all these aspects, questions remain about how well we have improved. So we’ll see.

Question: Last week the Formula E race took place in Tokyo. What do you think of this series, and what does it mean for the future of Formula 1?
Max Verstappen: I like Formula E because there are a lot of good drivers in the series, so the competition is very high. Several of my friends are participating in this championship, so I follow the races. However, I do not want to participate in Formula E in the future.

It was cool to see the Tokyo city circuit, but there was a mini jump. I don’t know who approved it, but he was probably drunk. This decision seemed a bit strange to me, but judging by the race… I’ve always liked Formula E thanks to the talents competing there, so it’s interesting to watch these races.