Verstappen on start at Spa: 'Struggling keeping the wheel spin steady'
Published on 03 September 2019 by Mike Motilall
One day after the Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is back in the Netherlands again. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-driver was a guest at Ziggo’s Peptalk, where he reflected on the race at the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps.
The race weekend in the Ardennes was over shadowed by the tragic accident of Formula 2-driver Anthoine Hubert, who passed away as a result of a horrendous crash. A massive blow for the drivers, including Max: “I used to race against him when we were driving go-karts and he was also a down to earth person. It was unbelievable; I saw the crash happen live. These days you go to a race weekend and don’t even give these kind of things any thought anymore, but all in all it doesn’t take much to have an accident. It was unfortunate for Anthoine that his first impact was already that severe. The car was already badly damaged and when he got struck a second time, it is very difficult then to walk away unscathed.”
How much did the drivers talk about this among themselves? “We didn’t talk much about it, but I did see Pierre Gasly, who was even closer to him, walking towards me with tears in his eyes. Something like that doesn’t leave you unaffected.” Despite everything, Max was able to get over any thoughts regarding the dangers of the sport: “I must say that I didn’t give it any thought during the installation lap, but when I ended up in the tyre wall during the first lap, I thought: if this is the worst that can happen today, this is nothing compared to what happened on Saturday.” The Dutchman is not afraid actually: “Of course there are moments that you need to be careful, but I have never been afraid. Otherwise you can just park the car trackside.”
Verstappen got poorly off the line during the race at Spa-Francorchamps, causing him to drop back a few places. Max explains how the starts generally take place: “We have a certain procedure which needs to be as steady as possible. I have been doing that for four years now at Red Bull, but we are struggling this year to keep the wheel spin steady. There is even a difference with every engine. So it’s always a mystery if it will be okay or not. This year it’s gone wrong quite some time, so we very well know what we need to work on. At this moment, we haven’t been able to keep it steady yet.”
According to the youngster, it also has to do more with the power unit itself than it has to do with the driver: “Looking at the entire season, we were the second best team regarding the starts last year. The year before that also, so I really don’t think that we are suddenly unable to do a good start. The procedure with the clutch is the same. We are talking millimeters here, it’s that precise. But apart from that, it’s still always unknown how the engine will handle your input. Sometimes there can be a delay or vice versa. How aggressively the clutch is set can also be controlled by the team. I just need to focus on following the same procedure every time, but you are also dependent on things that are also involved with it.”
Can starts be practiced and do you need to practice it? “You can try out a lot during testing and Honda is currently busy with that. They can see things that need to be improved, but it takes time. That is because it has to do with some characteristics of the engine.”
After the start, Max collided with Kimi Raikkonen, causing the steering rod of the RB15 to break, which in turn meant the end of the race for the Dutchman. Would it have been better if Max had been a bit more cautious? “We should have had a good start, then there wouldn’t have been any issues. In hindsight everything is 20/20. But it makes no difference, it’s already happened. I don’t think either Kimi or myself are to blame, because he never saw me. It is what it is. The crash is a fact, now we move on.”
Before the Summer break, Max took his first ever career pole in Hungary. How can you describe the feeling of getting pole position? “That was nice, but I always say it’s about the Sunday, and you saw that. You take pole on Saturday and before you know it, you come in second in the race. I would have rather had it the other way round. It is always nice to be the first one, but in the end it’s all about the race on Sunday.”
So far, Verstappen has had - except for the Belgian race - a fantastic season, being third in the standings and five podiums. Of which he took top-step twice. What were his nicest moments? “In general, the first half of the season”, says Max. “It was very difficult during the race in Hockenheim not to make any mistakes. Apart from a 360-spin, the race went very well. Also the Austrian Grand Prix, where I thought it was all over after the start. Eventually you make it all the way to the front, something that doesn’t happen that often anymore. After the race, we looked at each other in total disbelief. We had been very competitive. Of course you hear what the other teams went through afterwards, and it explains a lot, but overall it was just a great race.”
The Dutchman rounds up with a brief preview of the Italian Grand Prix, which will be held coming weekend on the Monza circuit. Talks about a possible grid penalty leaves Verstappen unfazed: “There is no confirmation yet, I don’t know anything myself. The possibility of us starting from the back is there, but that only means that we will have to overtake some folks.”
