Max fastest after first Zandvoort Masters day
Published on 05 July 2014 by Stefan Meens
On his first outing, Max Verstappen has set the fastest lap in both the first and second free practice session at the Zandvoort Masters. On this one-off occasion, the 16-year-old Dutchman drives this weekend for Team Motopark. Despite the new team, new car, new tyres and an unfamiliar track, Verstappen junior’s 1:33.9 and 1:33.2 gave the youngster the top spot at the end of the first day.
He explains: “It went well. I used the first few laps to get to know the circuit as I’d never driven here before. It did help that I practiced in the simulator. Also, normally you would do your first laps on a set of used tyres but obviously we only had new tyres, which was a bit of shame.”
This weekend, Max is driving a Dallara F308 chassis car whereas in the FIA Formula 3 Formula 3 Championship, he is used to a F312 F3 racer. “The car feels different as it’s a different chassis and engine. However, I’ve already tested with Team Motopark at Valancia so I knew what to expect from the car and the team.”
Another challenge for the Dutchman was his inexperience around the Zandvoort circuit. However, it did not take long for Max to get used to the track and to enjoy himself. “It’s an amazing and very challenging track. You don’t have big run-off areas like you do on the modern new tracks but here you have gravel traps and the barriers not far from the track. That makes it more interesting because you can’t allow yourself to make a small mistake, especially on the fasters parts of the track. If you slip up there, damage to your car is inevitable.”
At the end of the first free practice session, Max can be pleased as he dominates from the first until the last minute. “The speed was there from the beginning. The Kumho Ecsta tyres are harder compared to the Hankook tyres we use in Euro F3 which means we can’t brake as hard and they do drop off fairly quickly but I got used to them.”
As always, Max is keen to improve himself and the car: “The balance isn’t perfect. The car was sliding at the rear. So we’ll focus on the balance ahead of the second session as I haven’t driven this type of car that much before. Hopefully I can increase my lead to the rest of the field in FP2.”
Max is not able to create a bigger gap but is still on top after free practice 2. Max shares the top spot with his Team Motopark team mate Indy Dontje who sets an identical time of 1:33.214. Because Verstappen junior set his fastest lap earlier in the session, he is granted P1.
“I’m fairly satisfied. I wasn’t 100% pleased with my second sector but we know what to do. Furthermore the corner entry and the behaviour of the car in the middle part of the corner could be better. But we have the data so we’ll study it to improve the set-up”, reveals Max.
After a successful Friday, Max’ focus now lies with the two qualifying sessions on Saturday. The fastest lap, regardless in which session its set, counts. “Qualifying is crucial here. If you can start the race from pole position, that’s a lot of hard work out of the way as there aren’t really any opportunities to overtake here at Zandvoort. So I’m definitely gunning for top spot on the grid.”
Via Twitter and Facebook we will keep you updated throughout the weekend followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action.
The full schedule for the Zandvoort Masters can be found here.
Furthermore, you can follow Max via the official live timing.
Zandvoort Masters of Formula 3 – Zandvoort – Day 1, Friday July 4:
Results free practice 1
Results free practice 2
