Red Bull Racing celebrated P2 for the Belgian GP in Formula 1, but Max Verstappen acknowledged that his starting position was built on a well-executed strategy by the team. The Dutchman revealed that the slipstream provided by Isack Hadjar in Q3 was crucial to securing second place on the starting grid.
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According to Verstappen, the help from his teammate was decisive in an extremely balanced scenario. Without the gain obtained on the final straight of the lap, the four-time world champion believes he would have finished only in sixth position.
“I think we executed everything very well as a team today and we are happy to start on the front row. The whole weekend has been positive, the car is in a good operating window and the balance is also satisfactory,” said Verstappen.
The driver admitted, however, that Red Bull is still behind rivals in straight-line speed: “Of course Isack helped me in Q3 with the slipstream in the final sector. A big thank you to him, because that is one of the main reasons I am second for tomorrow’s race,” he declared.
Verstappen also revealed the extent of the benefit obtained: “We gained about three tenths of a second on the lap. Without that, we probably would have qualified around sixth place, considering how small the differences were,” he added. For the race, the Dutchman expects a defensive race: “Tomorrow will be more about watching the mirrors and defending the cars around us,” concluded the Dutchman.
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Hadjar, who finished tenth, explained that his mission was set from the start of the qualifying session: “Our goal was clear today, and we executed it. I knew I needed to reach Q3 and we achieved that with relative ease, despite the car being set up for the race,” he commented.
The Frenchman highlighted that helping Verstappen was part of the plan, even given the difficulties imposed by current regulations to manage the power unit: “It was a bit tricky to provide the slipstream, because you have to manage power delivery differently, but we got the timing right. Tomorrow, I hope to move up the grid and return to the points zone,” he added.
The team principal, Laurent Mekies, confirmed that the strategy was defined early in the weekend, as Hadjar will start at the back of the grid due to a penalty: “Isack and the team executed this perfectly, and that certainly helped Max secure a place on the front row. We know Mercedes was on another level on the straights, but we will fight to be in the podium battle,” he concluded.
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