Max looking forward to the STR11: "Things are looking good"

Published on 08 January 2016 by Stefan Meens

Over the festive period, Max Verstappen enjoyed a good holiday with his girlfriend and family in Dubai. Refreshed and energized for the new year, Max told Verstappen.nl: “It was warm and had a lot of fun. We rode camels, raced through the dessert in dune buggies – making the most of those sand dunes. Of course we also did some karting. So I had a great holiday.” Max also visited the world’s largest shopping centre, the Dubai Mall. “With its four stories, it’s easy to get lost. It also has an amazing aquarium in the Mall.”

On New Year’s Eve, a fire broke out in a 340 meter high skyscraper called the The Torch. “We were having dinner pretty close to the building so we decided to go back to our hotel as soon as possible when we heard about the fire. Luckily we weren’t affected by the situation.”

The fire brigade was able to control the fire quickly and the scheduled fireworks display was able to go ahead as planned. “The show was incredible. I wish it had gone on a bit longer.” A trip to a water park rounded up the Dutchman’s visit to the United Arab Emirates.

With his holiday now finished, Max is fully focussed on preparing for his second Formula 1 season. “I’m back in Monaco to train and  next week I’m off to Austria for more training. My personal trainer Jake put together an entire training program. Because we’re building on from my fitness last year, this year’s programme is more extensive.”

Max is not the only one within Scuderia Toro Rosso who is busy. Back in the factory in Faenza, the team is working as hard as they can to finish the 2016 car, the STR11. Max is positive: “Things are looking good. Of course you always aim to improve the car but the first signs do look promising. The STR10 was already very good in fast corners, so I’m looking forward what this year’s car brings.”

“The Ferrari engine is probably the biggest step. I’m expecting a lot from it. A big gain on the engine front makes everything a lot easier. I expect to gain about a second a lap because of engine performance alone, which is a lot. So I think we can make bigger steps then our close rivals.”