Max Verstappen has admitted that Red Bull’s Formula 1 car is “still not where I would like it to be” despite securing his ninth win of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who sealed the Drivers’ title in Las Vegas the previous weekend, controlled proceedings to make it consecutive victories at the Lusail International Circuit.
The Dutchman had been incensed approaching the race as a one-place grid drop for impeding George Russell in qualifying denied him a first pole position since June.
However, Verstappen soon reclaimed the position with a surging start to charge down Russell’s inside into Turn 1 as the Mercedes driver also lost out to Lando Norris.
Verstappen and Norris pulled clear in the lead and were trading lap times as the margin between them hovered above a second throughout an extended opening stint.
Norris appeared poised to challenge Verstappen in the closing stages until he was handed a stop-and-go penalty for speeding under double-waved yellows on Lap 30.
But while that enabled him to ease home, Verstappen has expressed that he relished the fight with Norris in a race in which tyre degradation wasn’t a limiting element.
“I mean, it’s never straightforward,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“I think in the first stint as well with Lando being there, honestly, I think the gap has been between 1.6 and 1.9 seconds, the whole stint, which you can’t afford to make a mistake.
“He didn’t, I didn’t, and we were just pushing flat out at one point.
“And it was honestly really enjoyable to drive because, of course, most of the races that we do, the tyres deg and you have to manage a lot.
“It felt like here you could push a bit harder and the track as well, the layout, I enjoy a lot. The grip is very good on the track. So yeah, that was a great stint.
“Then, of course, the second stint was a bit more stop-start with the Safety Cars involved and then of course the temperature as well in the tyres was very tricky because my middle
restart wasn’t particularly great. I tried something else but the grip was… The tyres basically were too cold, so I just kept on sliding and having no traction. So that was not ideal.
“Besides that, the pace was good. A dry race like this for us has been a long time, so I’m very happy with the improvements that we made compared to the start of the weekend.”
Verstappen hails Red Bull turnaround
Verstappen’s success came amid a huge turnaround over the weekend as a distant run to sixth in the Sprint race had seen him rue a “terrible” balance on his Red Bull.
“It’s probably been one of the biggest [swings], yeah, where you’re fighting Haas in the Sprint to fighting for the win in the main race,” he highlighted.
“So, yeah, it’s been quite a big swing in performance.”
Red Bull car balance still not optimal
But despite registering his first win in dry conditions since the Spanish Grand Prix back in June, Verstappen professed he is still not satisfied with the RB20’s handling.
“The last few races in the dry, we haven’t been particularly strong on managing the tyres,” he explained. “And that’s why I was a little bit careful after qualifying.
“But yeah, it’s been nice. I mean, it’s still not where I would like it to be in terms of the behaviour of the car compared to, let’s say, last year.
“But at least now, you know, we are back in a fight to win races.
“So if we can just learn from this year’s car, take the positives, of course, from also last year and try to build a better car, I’m sure that we can be again very competitive next year.”
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