Max about the Hungaroring, Bianchi and safety in F1

Published on 23 July 2015 by Mike Motilall

In 1994 Jos Verstappen scored his first podium on the Hungaroring. This weekend, for the first time, Max Verstappen will race in a Formula 1-car on the track near Budapest. In front of the Dutch press he shares: “It is very nice for my father to come back here. Hungary still remains special for our family. I think that it will be difficult for me to finish on the podium here, but I will be more than happy with some points. That’s my goal every race.”

“The STR10 performs well on tracks like these and when that’s the case, it gives your self-confidence a boost. So I think we are up for a good result here.” Max explains: “It has to do with the layout of the circuit. It is very short, pretty narrow, not so many straights and successive fast corners. It is a challenging circuit, where you need to make optimum use of the space on the track. Miss one corner, and pay the price in the following one. So it is essential to be in a good flow. I am looking forward to the race.”

Fifteen minutes prior to the race, one minute of silence will be respected in memory of Jules Bianchi, who passed away last week Friday as a result of a severe crash in the Japanese GP. Max did not know Bianchi personally. “I really haven’t ever talked to him, but of course it doesn’t leave you unaffected. It is always something when someone passes away, be it in Formula 1 or be it someone that lives in your own village. It is terrible, but, unfortunately, these things happen.”

The crash on Suzuka was a very unfortunate coincidence of circumstances. “It is awful how it happened to Bianchi. No one could have expected this. There will always be a risk, you know that danger is lurking and you need to always be vigilant. I am sure that Bianchi was that as well. But when your car snaps, causing you to spin off the track and collide with your head against a crane… How unfortunate is that? How big are the odds of something like that happening?”

If security in Formula 1 can be improved even more, is rather doubtful. “That is difficult to say. I think that you can only say something if it happens again. Looking at my crash in Monaco, the cars have become really safe. The only thing is that your head is in open air. But that’s how it is when racing in single seaters. If they were to put a roof on the car, I wouldn’t really call it Formula 1 anymore. I think there will always be a certain degree of risk.”

You can find the schedule for the Hungarian Grand Prix here. 

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