Max previews Imola: 'I am motivated to try and win every single race'

Published on 12 April 2021 by Niels Hendrix

In the first Grand Prix of 2021, in Bahrain, Max Verstappen finished second, after his start from pole position. There is a long season ahead, but was it satisfying to take the first pole of the season? “Of course, the race in Bahrain was a great start to the season, it was a positive weekend in terms of performance but there are no guarantees heading into Imola”, replies Max. “We had a positive start to the season so hopefully we can keep that up but it won’t be easy and we need everything to work perfectly to beat our main competition.”

The Bahrain GP was an eventful race weekend. How do you look back on it now? Max: “Of course there are always things we can do better, but that’s always easy to say after a race weekend. As a team we always look to improve but that’s a constant thing we are working on, we always want to be thinking ahead. Even if we had won the race in Bahrain, there are always areas to improve, especially when you are fighting a seven-time world championship winning team, so that’s what we will continue to do in Imola. I’m up for the battle and it’s still a very long season.”

How is the RB16B handling and is it more enjoyable to drive than RB16? Max says: “I don’t think you can compare both cars because there are a lot of different factors such as the tyres and the aero changes but the RB16B definitely handles well so far. We’ve also only been to one track so every single weekend you have to try and find a good balance in the car again but everyone enjoys that challenge of Formula 1.”

How excited are you going into Imola and what can we expect on this track? Max: “I’m feeling really relaxed going into this race weekend in Imola, I’m looking forward to going back there. Last year we had quite a good race until the tyre issue. Again, it’s too close to the start of the season to know how we will perform, we'll have to wait and see what happens on track. The desire comes from within and I am motivated to try and win every single race. So let’s see if we can go one better.”