Max ahead of Paul Ricard: 'Hopefully more competitive'
Published on 21 July 2022 by Stefan Meens
After a second place at the Austrian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is fully focussed on this weekend’s French Grand Prix.
Commenting on his podium at the Red Bull Ring, Max said: “I don’t think it was just our tyre wear, but also the general setup of the car. It wasn’t perfect in Austria, and I hope we’ve learned from it in order to be more competitive here.”
The French Grand Prix will be held at the Circuit Paul Ricard, in potentially scorching conditions. “There are a lot of fast corners at the end of the lap which can lead to the tyres overheating quickly. With the high temperatures predicted, it will be a tough weekend for the tyres.”
This weekend’s race will be the Dutchman’s 130th Grand Prix driving for Red Bull Racing and he will become the driver with the most starts for the Milton Keynes based outfit. The reigning champ is currently level with Mark Webber. “It’s great, because it means I’ve been a part of Red Bull for a long time. I love being part of this team and I’m hoping to add many more years. I feel great within the team and loyalty is a part of that. It felt good to stay at Red Bull and it’s nice to opereate in a familiar environment with the same people. You spend a lot of time together and share some amazing moment, also outside of the circuit.”
In the world championship standings, Max currently leads Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 38 points. With eleven Grands Prix to go, Max remains realistic about his points advantage. “I don’t think we had a really dominant weekend so far. At the start, we tried to catch up with Ferrari and beat them. They had a couple of DNFs which we were able to use. But my feeling is we’re still catching up. Our car is still a little bit too heavy, which is costing us lap time. Of course, it depends on the circuit but I feel that Ferrari in general had a few more dominant weekends.”
Apart from the on-track battle, a fierce development race rages off-track. Max: “We have to keep introducing updates and those updates have to prove to be working. Looking back, Red Bull has always been good at that, but that’s no guarantee for the future. Time and time again, we have to prove ourselves.”
