First, he suffered from gastroenteritis which delayed his arrival at the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix venue. Then, mechanical problems pushed Max Verstappen far back on the starting grid. A gain of 13 positions and a second place in the final classification should therefore have given him the desire to celebrate, shouldn’t it? Not in the eyes of the reigning double world champion.
Verstappen barely praised Red Bull’s second straight double, after he started from the 15the place to finish behind his teammate Sergio Pérez on Sunday at the Corniche circuit in Jeddah. Even the bonus point awarded to the driver with the fastest lap — a point that kept Verstappen atop the overall standings — didn’t help ease his frustration.
Verstappen had won the inaugural race in Bahrain two weeks ago, ahead of Pérez.
“Overall, within the team, the general feeling is one of happiness. But personally I’m not happy,” Verstappen said after the race. “Because I’m not here to be second, especially when you work really hard at the factory to make sure you come here in good spirits and that everything is in order. »
The 25-year-old Dutchman had to delay his trip to Jeddah due to a virus. Then a problem with the driveshaft hampered him in Saturday’s qualifying session and prevented him from fighting for the lead position.
For most pilots, from the 15e place would have meant simply trying to achieve a strong finish. But not Verstappen, who launched himself towards the front of the pack as if his rivals were stationed. Despite this, a distracted-looking Verstappen complained of feeling weird sensations from the driveshaft at the end of the stroke.
All of these elements loomed larger in his mind than the hard struggle he fought that almost propelled him to victory. He didn’t even seem interested in his fastest lap, which allowed him to slip a point ahead of Perez in what is increasingly shaping up to be a fight between the two Red Bulls for the drivers’ championship.
“If so, it’s pretty simple, isn’t it?” launched Verstappen. “We are allowed to race and therefore the best will finish first. »
Reliability issues
Verstappen is a perfectionist on the track and as a result, he has difficulty dealing with imperfections. He’s driving the fastest car on the grid, but it annoys him — and maybe too much — when those setbacks are out of his control.
He was bothered last year when reliability issues forced him to withdraw from two of the first three races on the calendar. Also, several times in previous seasons, he had difficulty controlling his temper when mechanical or engine problems disrupted his races.
His frustration in Jeddah was amplified by the fact that he had dominated all three free practice sessions before qualifying.
“It’s not just about the pace of the car; we have to make sure that we are reliable, and that we have no problems. After three free practice sessions, I have a problem in qualifying. Of course, I recovered to second place, which is good,” stressed Verstappen.
Despite this, the manner in which he finished second disturbed the driver, winner of 15 races last year, a record in Formula 1.
“You have to do a recovery run, which I like; I don’t mind doing it,” Verstappen claimed. “But when you’re fighting for a championship – and especially when it seems to be between two cars – we have to make sure that both cars are equally reliable,” he added.
The Australian Grand Prix on April 2 is the next race on the calendar, a race Verstappen has never won before and from which he has had to retire twice. “We have to do better. You just need to have a cleaner weekend. I think that would be good too,” he repeated.