Max from Budapest: 'We have to be realistic, but I always give it my very best'
Published on 16 July 2020 by Mike Motilall
At the Styrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen unfortunately had to accept that Mercedes were in a class of their own when they took their first one-two this season on Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s very own home circuit. Last week, Max scored his first podium for this season. But on the curvy track in Hungary, Max expects the German squad to be the one to beat once more
“Clearly they are ahead of us. I wish I was closer and everybody is working flat out. We need to work hard to close the gap. I think there is always room for improvement, but we also have to be realistic. When you are that dominant, like Mercedes, I think they will be quick on every track”, says Max from Budapest.
He continues: “It’s going to be hard to beat them here but I always give it my very best.” Maybe the weather will also play a role, as a spell of rain is forecasted around Budapest this weekend. Max: “Maybe the weather is also going to play a part and create a bit of chaos as well, but on pure pace, it will be very hard to beat Mercedes. We’ll find out.”
Max is in for a good fight, he says: “I always try to give it my very best, even though I know that I will not be able to beat Mercedes. So I try to get as close as possible. I will not drive a couple of tenths slower even if that is good enough for third place. I am not like that. That was also the case in the fight with Bottas. I could have let him by without doing anything even though I know that he will still overtake me. But I am not going to let him by that easily.”
Fighting for the championship is what Red Bull and Max want, but it will be a great challenge to engage in that battle. Max: “We made it difficult for ourselves with that one retirement in the first weekend. More and more Grands Prix are being confirmed but it will not be a full calendar. So if we really want to take part in the championship, we really need to start winning races now because we are quite some points behind. We’ll see. I won’t give up. It will not be easy but it’s not in me to give up already.”
Hungarian GP contest: win a white RBR MV T-shirt from the new MV collection 2020!
