Max: "I've improved in 2017"
Published on 23 November 2017 by Stefan Meens
At the last Grand Prix of the 2017 season, Max Verstappen attended the FIA driver press conference. The Dutchman was questioned on a variety of topics, including his 2017 campaign, his team mate, overtakes and this year’s regulation changes.
First up, the youngster’s impressions of the Abu Dhabi circuit: “The facilities and everything is amazing, it’s great, the hotels are great. The track itself is actually quite interesting because a lot of corners, they follow up on each other so if you miss one you’re not well positioned for the other one so it’s quite technical in that way. I would have liked it to be a little bit faster, those corners, but it’s a bit like in Mexico, you know, there are quite technical areas where you have to be well positioned for one corner and then the next. But yeah, that’s also, I think you have to master, to hit the apexes all correctly.”
As it is the last race of the season, the drivers are able to reflect on their season. Max wants more in 2018: “I’m not fighting for the championship. But it’s been positive, the last few races. I think Brazil maybe was not perfect but I think we know the reasons for that as well; when you lose performance from the engine as well to keep things alive but hopefully for this weekend we can change that and hopefully we will be a bit closer again. I think if we can be close in qualifying then normally in the race we should be a little bit better so I’m looking forward to that.”
Red Bull Racing have made a lot of progress over the year, but has Max as a driver developed? “I think I’ve improved but I think in general it’s all about experience and of course if you haven’t really raced a lot in lower categories and you make the jump to Formula One you have to learn it in Formula One and of course a lot more people are watching it but I think in general compared to last year, the speed was already there last year. Just sometimes - like qualifying for example, last year, at the beginning - was a bit more tricky but I think that’s quite normal when you jump into a new car which is not really made around you, or you didn’t really have a lot of time to get used to during the season. And I think this year with the winter tests, that helps a lot, just little details inside the car which makes you feel a bit more comfortable. Yeah, having more experience in qualifying, that helped me to have better starting positions and if you start in a better position, normally your race result is also a bit better, if you have a decent start, so I think all in all that just helps a lot.”
2017 marked the start of a new era in Formula 1, with the new regulations looking to make the cars faster. Max enjoyed the changes: “It’s been a bit more positive because it’s more like a race car. Last year’s was a bit more like a toy car for my feeling, and this year it’s a bit more rough and you know it’s harder to drive but in general it’s also just more enjoyable because you can go a lot faster into the corners without being too worried about locking fronts and stuff and I think that helped me.”
Overtaking, or the lack off, is an often debated topic among Formula 1 fans. Are the circuits the reason there is not enough overtaking? Max: “I think we first have to focus on the cars, not the tracks. I mean some tracks are known for that but I think this year you can already see – compared to last year – that it’s more difficult to follow so I think we first have to address that, then normally overtaking should be less of an issue.”
Max is renowned for his overtakes. Any personal favourites that stand out this year? “I don’t know. I felt last year was more enjoyable to overtake. I don’t know why. So, no clue, to be honest. They were not as exciting as last year, I think. In general. I think last year was still more enjoyable than those.”
With Daniel Ricciardo and Max in the same team, Red Bull Racing have arguably got the strongest driver line-up on the grid. What does Max think of his Aussie team mate? “He’s a great guy. Of course, on track you always try to beat each other but off-track we can have a great laugh. I think we really respect each and to be honest, I’ve never really experienced something like that in racing, to have such a good teammate, to really have fun with. So yeah, I hope we can be teammates for a long time.”
The two are yet to fight for the championship, a scenario that could disrupt their good relationship: “For sure when you fight for the World Championship it will get a bit more tense, I think, on the track but at the end of the day, you always come back to where you respect each other and you have to accept if one guy is faster than the other and I think that’s what we can do. And also, when somebody has a good race, we can really say to each other ‘well done’ and ‘you really deserved that’. And I think that’s also very important.”
Over the last three seasons, Max has become one of the most popular F1 drivers, both in the Netherlands and internationally. “It’s always good to have a lot of fans. I think it brings positive pressure with you and also when you are driving it’s just great to see so many fans next to the track and even off track. I don’t know how many fans I have in Argentina, I’ve never been there but it’s always good to have and to have them on board. And the message? Well, keep supporting and I will try to have some good results for you.”
Abu Dhabi GP contest: win a Max Verstappen/Red Bull Racing jacket
