to Monaco it was a long and trying weekend, full of unexpected events, so much so as to make Max Verstappen doubt the race victory. However, once again, and despite the rain that came as a surprise, Red Bull prevailed with its top driver, the most successful ever. And now it starts again Barcelona, in this back to back which will also see a novelty in the track. Let's see what the impressions of the 2 times world champion, Max Verstappen, are on the eve of the Catalan weekend.
No one like Max
The Dutch driver likes to climb the ranks, and the fans like to see him climb alongside the biggest names in the history of Formula 1. Max Verstappen broke another record with his victory in Monte-Carlo, becoming the most successful driver in the history of Red Bull. One more victory was enough for him, after the 3 that arrived in the first part of the season, and with such a long championship and a clear superiority of the Austrian team, we didn't have to wait long to see him reach this important milestone. Although Max likes to win, records don't interest him, and future goals are a continuous evolution. “my goal was to win a championship, i achieved it, now it's all about enjoying the moments i'm living – says Max during the press conference preceding the weekend in Barcelona. “Obviously I'll try to win as many races as possible, but I've never been one for sports statistics it's also important to have fun and work with the people I'm working with.”
Monaco difficult but positive weekend
“I don't know if it was the best weekend of 2023. It was certainly a positive weekend. We knew the day before that it probably wasn't going to be our best weekend on the calendar, but we still managed it well. Qualifying was very hard-fought, but Monaco is always very chaotic.”
One of the most outstanding things was seeing how many laps Max Verstappen was able to do with the set of mediums mounted at the start. A really long stint which, as Max says "it wasn't planned, But it was crucial, as we stayed out to monitor Fernando's strategy. Then it started to rain. The rain made everything very chaotic. Not the best thing that can happen to you when you're in the lead and it starts raining. You don't want to take too many risks. When I crossed the line I said to myself, I'm glad it's over a weekend because it's been very hectic and stressful and I was really looking forward to this weekend with a proper track. When I crossed the finish line I was very happy because it was very hectic and stressful and I was looking forward to this weekend with a real track."
In Barcelona, the potential of the single-seater
Can't wait to race in Barcelona Max Verstappen, who collected the first victory of his career here in 2016. If in Monaco the difference was mainly made by the driver, in Barcelona, an extremely technical track, it is the single-seater that has to express its full potential. As Max says "in Barcelona the machine wakes up”.
And the RB19 has a lot to say, a lot to prove. We will have to see if Aston Martin and above all Ferrari and Mercedes will have the same, with the new updates. Unlike these teams, Red Bull proceeds briskly on the initial running program and has no intention, nor need, to overturn the single-seater that is dominating the championship. Regarding the ability to see a large amount of updates on the RB19 Max clarified that “we will do our normal schedule, nothing crazy because the updates we have brought are good and on paper they should help us to have a better balance, which is what is needed to have a good weekend.”
Statements: sky sports f1
