Deserved podium after a stellar drive
Published on 20 April 2014 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen ended his first European Formula 3 race weekend on a high with an impressive podium finish. After starting the third and final race of the event from fifth, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver produced a mature drive with plenty of overtaking manoeuvres rewarding him with second place.
After claiming a third spot on the Euro F3 rookie championship podium on Saturday, the young Dutchman was now able to taste champagne for his first FIA Formula 3 European Championship podium finish.
The 16-year-old experienced a mixed day on Saturday. A collision in the first lap of race 1 resulted in a DNF after which Max produced a solid drive to claim fifth in race 2. He is thus keen to impress on Sunday: “My first race on Saturday wasn’t great and I learned from my mistake. I have to say the second race wasn’t bad, apart from a bad start”, explains an honest Max. “Me and my engineer Rik analysed a lot of data to see where I could improve and it paid dividends today as I had both a good start and good pace.”
The 26 drivers have to get up early for the third and final race of the weekend as it is scheduled for 9.15am. Despite dark clouds hovering above Silverstone, the race is held under dry conditions. When the lights go out, Max has a clean get-away from fifth. “I had a similar start to the drivers in front of me so I didn't lose any ground like I did in the first two races. But it was all pretty close in the first few corners especially with Nicholas Latifi.” The two youngsters give each other enough space and after a battling for several corners, Max takes P4.
Meanwhile, Antonio Fuoco jumps polesitter Esteboan Ocon for the race lead. Tom Blomqvist is in third, closely followed by Max. The latter does not hesitate when an opportunity arises in the second lap and swiftly passes the British driver.
Max' new targets are the two Prema Powerteam drivers up the road. “The pace of my Van Amersfoort Racing car was amazing and I was able to close the gap to Ocon quickly. However, there wasn’t much I could do besides following him as my car lost a bit of front-end grip. This meant I had to turn into the corners with more steering angle which caused more tyre wear at the front.”
Nevertheless, Max keeps his composure and patiently waits for an opportunity to arise. “I tried to keep the pressure on him to force him into a mistake and in turn one of the eleventh lap he did. He tried to defend but I carried more speed onto the long straight and was able to catch his slipstream and overtake him. It was my only chance and I took it”, reveals a delighted Max.
The exciting fight between Verstappen and Ocon, gives race leader Fuoco a chance to increase his lead to over four seconds and the Italian takes the race win.
That is not to say that Max does not try; he extends his lead on Ocon to 4.5s. Nevertheless, the victory proved a bridge too far.
“When I got to P2, I managed to nibble a few tenths of Fuoco's lead but my front tyre was pretty worn so I couldn’t take right-handers flat-out any more. However, I'm still delighted with this result. To come from fifth and finish in second, even though overtaking is difficult, is fantastic.”
For a moment, Max' podium seems in jeopardy as race control investigates Verstappen junior's move on Blomqvist for P3. The manoeuvre supposedly took place under yellow flags but the FIA rule otherwise and Max keeps his well earned second place.
Therefore Max and Van Amersfoort Racing leave the opening round of the 2014 Euro F3 championship on a high. Max: “All credits go to the team as together we showed real progress and pace throughout the weekend!”
The next round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship is held at Hockenheim in two weeks time. “It's a great track and I've already tested there with a Formula Renault 2.0 racer. In addition, Van Amersfoort Racing were very quick at Hockenheim last year, so I cannot wait to hit the track again”, concludes a happy Max.
You can find the Verstappen Info Page's exclusive photo's of Max' F3 debut here.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship – Round 1, Silverstone – Day 3, Saturday April 20:
Results race 3
Euro F3 drivers championship
Euro F3 rookie championship
Euro F3 team championship
