Max after second place in Dutch GP: 'Don't need to panic'

Published on 25 August 2024 by Florence Cobben

After the Dutch Grand Prix, where Max claimed second place with a wide gap to winner Lando Norris, the Dutch man elaborates on the reasons for this Sunday's outcome. 

"I had the same balance from FP1 all the way to the race- The limitations are the same so it's very hard to solve at the moment", Max explains. "It seems like we're too slow, but also quite bad on (tyre degradation) on the moment. That's a bit weird because last few years we've been quite good on that. So something has lately been going wrong lately with the car and that we need to understand quickly try to improve."

It's unsurprising to Max: "It was there in the first few races. So yeah, something in the car has made it more difficult to drive, and it's very hard to pinpoint where it's coming from at the moment. And that is hurting our warm up performance, but also our long runs."

Norris' championship campaign against Max, at 225 points, is still 70 points behind the worldchampion's 295. Max is not alarmed, however. "I think this weekend was just a bad weekend in general. The last few races haven't been fantastic, that in a sense I think was already a bit alarming. But we don't need to panic. We just try to improve the situation and that's what we're working on. Formula 1 is very complicated."

Looking ahead to the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Max concludes: "We need to figure out our balance issues. I think that will really help our (tyre degradation). Of course in Monza a lot is new: the tarmac, the kerbs, and even the layout. Also that we need to understand a bit more. We know we have a lot of work to do."