Max during Ziggo exclusive: 'I think it's closer this year!'
Published on 19 March 2021 by Stefan Meens
A week before the first Grand Prix of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, Max Verstappen previewed the season with Rob Kamphues and Robert Doornbos for the Formula 1 Café, the show that will be on Ziggo Sport every Friday evening.
Mid-December, Max finished his sixth season in F1. After a well-earned break with family and friends, the Dutchman’s focus is fully on the new campaign ahead. “After my holiday I’ve been busy training at home in Monaco on the balcony or going for runs outside. I think I’ve trained well, and my weight stayed constant. I’m well prepared and I’m happy with that.”
The travel restrictions have meant Max has not spent as much time in the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes, England. “I haven’t been much over the winter because I couldn’t get into the country, but recently I’ve been several times to drive the simulator and do some promo activities. Of course we have plenty of video calls and my engineer and I are in constant communication so I know what’s happening.”
During the pre-season test in Bahrain, Max was able to test his fitness. “You can train as much as you like, but your neck will always feel a little stiff the next morning after the first day back in the car. Of course I know how to get my neck in to shape, but I did feel it after 139 laps, but it’s all good.”
“We had to try and learn the car and fine-tune the balance in Bahrain. Generally speaking, all the changes we made had a positive effect. We didn’t have any issues and I felt good in the car. It felt predictable, which is what you want, especially because of the downforce loss because of the new floors. But there is always room for improvement.”
On the topic of floors, Max explains: “Just in front of the rear wheels, the rules have stipulated that part of the floor has to be removed. Normally this bit of the floor is crucial for downforce generation. It’s difficult to claim back the lost downforce and you can see that teams are trying different things to do so.”
The 2021 season marks the final year of the Honda partnership. Nevertheless, the Japanese manufacturer is keen to make the most of this season and has brought forward the introduction of a brand-new power-unit. Max: “It’s good to see Honda are throwing everything at it. I’m curious to see how the Honda compares to the Mercedes when we go all out. We’ll have to see what happens and just focus on ourselves and keep improving.”
Another change apparent for 2021, is Max’ team-mate. Sergio Perez has taken over from Alex Albon in the second RB16b. Max is happy to have ‘Checco’ onboard. “I think he has shown throughout the years that he is very consistent and good in scoring points, especially at Force India and Racing Point. I get on well with Sergio and things are very relaxed.”
A new driver means a new driving style. “I don’t think that will be an issue. We already talked about it and he explained that the Red Bull mainly behaves different in the slower corners compared to his previous car. But that’s OK, it’s always a case of finding your rhythm as a new driver.”
A change we will potentially see during the season is the introduction of a Saturday sprint-race at three Grands Prix this year. “I’m open to try, but ultimately the fastest cars will stay at the front so I’m not sure it will add much excitement. Hopefully I’ll be positively surprised, but as a kid I loved looking forward to the race on Sunday. It’s special. And if you change too much, you take that away a bit.”
There are talks that the race weekend format should change too, but Max is not sure if that is an effective way to make on-track action more exciting. “I think it’s more important to make sure the cars can follow each other more closely. The other day I saw a clip on YouTube of myself in 2016. I was surprised by the amount of overtakes. The following years there were less so I think we should focus on making the cars better for racing, instead of altering the race weekends. Of course, Fridays are a bit boring and you could make it a two-day event, but it’s more important to make the cars more interesting.”
This year, the Formula 1 calendar spans 23 Grands Prix. If all events go ahead, it will be the longest season in the history of the sport. Max thinks there are too many races planned but is happy that some of his favourites are part of the schedule. “I’m really looking forward to the Dutch GP at Zandvoort. I’m hoping we’ll be able to have lots of fans in orange. Of course, I’m looking forward to Spa-Francorchamps, which is my favourite track.” At both the Dutch and Belgian Grands Prix, as well as in Austria and Hungary, there will be Max Verstappen grand stands. Tickets are available at www.verstappentravel.com.
Despite the positive vibes following on from pre-season testing, it is difficult to predict what the true pace of the teams is. Max remains therefor realistic: “I don’t see myself as the favourite. If you are as dominant as Mercedes was in the last seven years, then even if you have the worst floor because of the rule changes, you will still be good. For me Mercedes is still the favourite. But I hope we are competitive this year, but that is not just up to us. Our goal is to be fast always and everywhere and I think we’ll be closer to the Mercedes. But we won’t know until a week’s time in Q3.”
