Verstappen: We are looking for solutions to stay ahead

In Barcelona, ​​Max Verstappen achieved his seventh victory of the season and the 61st victory of his career. At the FIA ​​press conference after the finish, the Red Bull Racing driver summarized the weekend’s results and assessed the balance of power in the coming stages.

Question: Max, congratulations on your win. How easy was the race from your point of view?
Max Verstappen: The race was not easy. In the beginning it was crucial to get ahead of Lando Norris, but at that point I tried to trade in the way I thought was most profitable. It was then important to overtake George Russell as quickly as possible to create a small gap in the first stint. I think it all worked out fine.

We then stuck to a pretty aggressive strategy and the team did great during the pit stops. I think, all things considered, we had a good race and maximized all possibilities.

But at the same time I think we had problems because the race pace was not optimal, and at the end of each segment there were problems with degradation of the rubber. The race cannot be called simple. Moreover, closer to the finish, Lando started to overtake me quite quickly. Luckily, the gap I created was enough for me.

Q: As you said, closer to the finish Lando overtook you. Do you think he had the fastest car in the race?
Max Verstappen: I can only speak for myself, and I did have some issues with the pacing. Plus, my car’s tires didn’t last as long as Lando’s. Apparently he could attack harder in some corners.

Obviously we were disappointed with the tire situation when it turned out that Lando could drive a longer first stint. But we continue to optimize everything. I can’t say our team did anything wrong during the race, but we have to keep working to make the car faster.

Q: Can you tell us more about the first ten seconds of the race when you were battling Lando and you were both passed by George Russell?
Max Verstappen: It was amazing. I got off to a good start and then Lando was next to me and I had to drive through the grass for a bit. I think George took advantage of the double slipstream and got around us well on the outside radius. I think all three of us understood the situation in the first corner well.

Q: The next race will take place in Austria, where you have an excellent history of performance. Do you think you will have another exciting confrontation with McLaren at the Red Bull Ring?
Max Verstappen: Actually, previous records mean nothing now. We need a fast car to maintain high competitiveness. At this point we need to get more out of the RB20 to win comfortably.

If you look at some of our previous victories, they were achieved because we made the right decisions at the right times and acted as a strong team.

Question: The circuit in Barcelona usually gives an idea of ​​the balance of power. Did you see how close McLaren and Lando are to Red Bull Racing this weekend?
Max Verstappen: I always knew the fight would be very exciting, and McLaren did very, very well. They have prepared many effective new products that apparently work.

We also brought updates to Barcelona, ​​but apparently they didn’t increase lap time as much as our rivals. Our job now is to sort things out and try to get back into the lead as we clearly lacked speed in this race. Moreover, because of the tires I could not attack as actively as Lando.

These kinds of things are critical on most tracks where rubber degradation is possible. So yes, we need to improve on this aspect.

Q: After qualifying you said you were forced to give 101% to compensate for the lack of speed. What was the situation during the race?
Max Verstappen: Small details indeed determined the outcome of the weekend. Usually it is impossible to drive in a race like in qualifying. The fact is that we would like to look a little better, and in the race we did everything well, but the gaps are minimal. We won again, but the team needs to dig deeper into the details to understand how we can improve.

Question: Your focus now is on McLaren, but what threat can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes pose later in the season?
Max Verstappen: Depends on what the teams plan to put on their cars. I mean, I don’t know what Mercedes is working on right now. The only thing I can control is what our team cooks, and that’s what I focus on.

Of course, you can think about potential new products from your rivals, but this is simply a waste of energy. I am already very busy optimizing our car to make it even better. We discuss a lot with the engineers and try to find solutions that allow us to stay ahead.