Max after Spain DNF: "Just not our day"
Published on 15 May 2017 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen’s 2017 Spanish Grand Prix was limited to just the opening lap of the race. In the first corner, the Dutchman damaged his right front suspension after Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) tapped Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen into Max’ RB13.
“If Raikkonen and Bottas hadn’t touched, I would’ve had those two in that corner. It really looked positive”, reflects Max. “If you look back at the footage, you see Bottas brake very early, compared to me and Kimi. Then he hits Raikkonen’s rear right wheel, resulting in the Ferrari jumping up. That’s very difficult to control so Raikkonen hit me hard. Basically I became a victim of what happened on the inside line.”
“It’s the sort of thing that really shouldn’t happen, but it did. Unfortunately, Raikkonen veered into me.”
Although the run into turn 1 appeared to grant Max the potential to overtake a couple of cars, the youngster did not have the best of starts. “It wasn’t the best, nor the worst but it meant I was in the perfect position by the time we got to turn 1, because I didn’t have to brake. Everyone else was trying to figure out where to go, which left me the easy route on the outside.”
In the end, the clash between Bottas, Raikkonen and Verstappen was deemed a racing incident by the stewards. Max does not fully agree with their decision: “Bottas eliminated two other drivers. He should have braked later. Kimi and I braked late and then you expect to go round Bottas. But the Bottas pushed on. I don’t think that was a particularly clever move.”
The Finnish Mercedes driver did apologize for his manoeuvre. “That’s nice of him, but it doesn’t really help me.”
The 18-year-old does not regret choosing the outside line. “Of course I could’ve chosen to take it easy at the back, but that’s not my attitude. I’d rather be third by taking a bit too much risk than to just lap round in fifth. I saw the gap and when for it. I took the outside line and left room to stay clear of what happened on the inside. Unfortunately when those two touched, one ricoched to the left.”
Despite his race ending after a single lap, Max points out a couple of positives, the first being the pace shown in qualifying. “It looked good on Saturday, but it wasn’t our day on Sunday, whereas it was last year. Regardless, it was great to see so many fans. I think there were more Dutch fans than Spanish ones.”
His Red Bull Racing team mate Daniel Ricciardo finished on the podium, third behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. The gap to the Mercedes and Ferrari was big but that does not throw Max off. “There was no pressure so it meant he could just bring the car home. Generally speaking I think we’ve made the gap to Ferrari smaller.”
The next race, the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, is the coming up in a fortnight. “We were quick here in the third sector which is encouraging for Monaco. But it’s a special place. Not other track has the barriers that close to the track. It’s key we can really make the tyres work, which will be difficult as the compound are too hard for the track. We’ll see what happens.”
