The Formula 1 Japanese GP was another challenging weekend for Max Verstappen. The Red Bull Racing driver finished in eighth position after a recovery race, but highlighted that the result was still far from the team’s expectations.
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Despite the difficulties, the Dutchman stated that he managed to extract as much as possible during the race. According to him, performance was limited by problems faced throughout the weekend, which reduced the chances of competing for positions further ahead.
“For this race I tried everything I could to get back into the points and move forward. I had a better start, maximized my race and recovered positions,” he said. Even so, Verstappen found difficulties when trying to overtake direct competitors.
One of the main moments occurred in the battle with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. The four-time champion highlighted that he tried the overtake, but found no opportunity: “I tried to pass the Alpine, but Pierre did a good job, without making mistakes, and made everything very difficult.”
He also pointed out limitations in energy use during overtaking attempts: “When I tried to overtake, there was no battery on the main straight. I kept waiting for a small mistake, but he did everything right and there was no way to pass,” Verstappen stated.
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Even with the difficulties, the Dutchman considered the result positive within the context faced by the team: “In the end, we scored good points considering the problems we had this weekend, but it’s not really where we want to fight.”
With a break of approximately one month in the calendar in April, due to the war in the Middle East, Verstappen highlighted the importance of using this period to seek evolution: “Now we have a month to analyze everything, to be more competitive and resolve more things on the car. It will be important to find more pace and better understand the car, the engine and the way energy is used,” he added.
Finally, Verstappen reinforced that work will continue intensely in the coming weeks: “Everyone is working to the maximum and doing the best possible, and there is a lot we can do in the coming weeks,” the Dutch driver concluded, aiming for a recovery in the next stages of the season.
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