“It doesn’t matter being 3 or 4, I’m not here for this”

For the third time this season, Max Verstappen left from the pole position. On Saturday he impressed by overcoming the theoretically faster McLaren, although Andrea Stellaon behalf of the British team, he said that Red Bull is creating “a story” and that the RB21 It is not really so bad. Verstappen, meanwhile, already foreshadowed a difficult career, since McLaren It manages the overheating of the rear tires much better than the rest of the grill.

The first mission of Verstappen It was to keep the leadership at the exit. The Dutch started well, but he stopped braking in the first curve, which allowed Lando Norris to try on the outside in curve 2. The British went out, although he was not sufficiently related to claim space. The commissioners did not intervene, but the McLaren They had not yet said their last word. Oscar Piastri then became his greatest threat. The Australian advanced with decision to Verstappen, and there began to see the difference with Norriswho had lost six seconds in his duel with the Dutch, although he finally also managed to overcome it.

The third position then seemed the best possible result, but Verstappen was the victim of the bad synchronization of the virtual security car. George Russell advanced it and Max had to settle for fourth place. “It was simply not good enough,” he valued Verstappen in statements to Viaplay. “Zero coma zero options. I tried something with the McLarenbecause I had nothing to lose. I had a little fun, I couldn’t do much more. Let the virtual safety car come out … well, it can happen. But it doesn’t matter to be third or fourth. For that I am not here, obviously. “

“Better let it be”

Duels with McLaren They wasting time, although Verstappen He positively valued that Piastri struggled hard. That he did not make it easy to have a reason: “After Saudi Arabia I could already imagine it,” he said in reference to the incident with Piastri in curve 1 of that race, where he took him out of track after advancing and received a penalty of five seconds.

Beyond the fight, Verstappen He had his own problems during the race, especially with the balance of the car, brakes and tires. “It’s a usual problem. We have to work on it,” he said. In the final part he approached Russellbut he couldn’t advance it. “Every time I tried to press a little more, the tires warmed too much and could not attack. So there came a time when I thought: ‘Better let it be,” he said with a laugh. “I kept it less than five seconds, but I also thought: ‘I take it home, I don’t feel like getting there in DRS zone, Total, I was not going to change anything,” concluded the Red Bull driver.