Max Verstappen returned to the podium at the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 and considered third place an excellent outcome for the Red Bull Racing weekend. The Dutchman highlighted the need to extract the maximum from the car in a race where Mercedes showed a clear advantage.
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According to Verstappen, the main difficulty was in power delivery on the straights, especially compared to cars equipped with Mercedes power units. Even so, the strategy with hard tires allowed Red Bull to recover positions and keep the fight for the podium.
“The main limitation is that we were having difficulties very quickly with power delivery on the straights compared to cars equipped with Mercedes engines, and there were still some issues in that area,” Verstappen said. After the stop, the Dutch driver managed to advance through the pack and even took the lead during the race.
However, this recovery was hampered by an incident at turn 2. Verstappen explained that the asphalt had come loose in the area and, when passing through, he completely lost the racing line because of the gravel scattered on the track, allowing the McLarens to return to the overtaking fight.
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“I took the corner, and suddenly, I went straight because of the loose gravel on the asphalt. Then the McLarens came back into the overtaking fight and it took some time to recover the position,” he added.
Despite the episode and the difficulty in keeping up with the Mercedes cars, Verstappen assessed that the team managed to maximize the available performance: “I tried everything I could and even reached the lead during the race, which was exciting. Unfortunately, we simply couldn’t match the Mercedes cars, but being on the podium was an extremely good end to the weekend,” he concluded.
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