Max feels like a fish in water during test in Spa

Published on 07 November 2013 by Johan Peeters

Spa-Francorchamps is not only known as one of the most challenging circuits for drivers, but also for its guaranteed rainfall. And Max Verstappen got plenty of rain on Monday when he started his latest Formula Renault 2.0 test for Josef Kaufmann Racing. The 16-year-old super talent set the fastest (unofficial) time on day one of the two-day test on the rain soaked circuit in the Belgian Ardennes. When the rain momentarily stops and the light turns green on the pit exit, Max is the first on the track and the first to fly up the steep Eau Rouge slope. Of course, the first runs are all about learning the seven kilometer long circuit.

"Spa-Francorchamps is a beautiful and challenging track to drive", Max said half way through Monday. "Although I've only driven it in the rain, it's a great track. Especially Eau Rouge is great. It's not full throttle through there because of the rain, you have to lift slightly. It's a long circuit, but that doesn't necessarily make it harder to learn. The number of turns is not so bad, it's the long straights in between that make the track so long."

Max continued: "It would have been better if it had have rained constantly than this constantly changing weather. If the track dries out a little, the tyres get hot quickly and the rubber moves too much. If there's water on the track, the tyres cool down better on the straights giving more grip in the corners."

The rain showers continue to follow each other, interspersed with progressively shorter dry periods meaning the FR 2.0 car is on wet tyres for the entire day. Max gets fresh rubber mounted on the car at the start of the afternoon session, but the heavens open up just as he's about to get some quick laps in.
"I had a lot of understeer on my first set of wet tyres, so we adjusted the setup of the car. After that it was a lot better on the other tyres. I think I was the fastest on the track. It was definitely OK." With a lap time of 2:39.3s Max was a tenth of a second quicker than his more experienced team mate Gustav Malja, who has already completed a FR 2.0 Eurocup season, making it an impressive result for the fast Dutchman.

"I didn't drive much in the afternoon", Max said as darkness began to fall. "It started to rain very hard and the car was like a boat on water. So I couldn't better my time this afternoon. Although there were quite a few cars out there, the spray wasn't too bad. I didn't have any problems with traffic, and when there was, I could get past them pretty quickly." Asked about his impressions of the Josef Kaufmann Racing team, Verstappen junior replied: "We are the fastest, that means the team and car must be good. The teamwork is excellent. We listen to each other and that's important." Max also got some necessary tips. "I turned in too hard in a couple of corners. That's not necessarily wrong or slower, but you can go past the point where the tyres lose their grip. I'll learn from that and take that in to tomorrow."

After almost 50 laps of the Spa-Francorchamps track, Max had another day of testing planned for Tuesday. That Max didn't spin the car or come off the track, is an important factor. Because you can't get kilometers under your belt if you're stuck in the gravel. It is just a shame that the weather forecasts for the second day are not good and more rain is predicted. But luckily Max feels at home in the conditions.

Niels Hendrix / Nathan Costelloe