Verstappen: “We lose too much in a straight line”

Max Verstappen never stops criticizing the engine Renault who equips his Red Bull RB14. The Dutchman nevertheless achieved a decent result by taking 5th place on the grid for the Brazilian GP between Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber).

“We should be close to the pace of the Mercedes and Ferraris because we were efficient on the long stints, but we lost a second to them with our engine. The car is nevertheless efficient even if the balance was not perfect because we lacked grip at the front. We may have a small chance to fight against Ferrari, but we lose too much in a straight line and it will be difficult”, commented the five-time Grand Prix winner.

“We did the best we could and that resulted in this 5th place. We can be satisfied with it, added the 21-year-old Red Bull driver. The conditions were a bit tricky, but everyone did very well in the garage. We tried to set a better time in Q2 with the soft tires, but we narrowly failed. However, it is not a big problem to start on super soft tires. It should be hotter for the race and the rear tires will suffer more. That should benefit us. The race is always complicated when the weather remains dry and the rain should benefit us if it arrives. »

His teammate Daniel Ricciardo will be condemned to a comeback race starting from 11th position after receiving a 5 place penalty following a turbo change.

“It's positive to fail half a second from pole because I don't think we've been this close to that in the past, recalled the Australian. We have also known since Friday that we are performing better in the race. I will clearly start outside the leading group with my penalty and I therefore hope to move up the positions quickly. We wanted to start on soft tires but only Ferrari managed to qualify with these tires in Q2 and we are in the same situation as Mercedes. It shouldn't make a big difference because our car is efficient with these compounds and it retains the tires well. This diversity of strategies will perhaps push us to adopt a two-stop race. »

“Since last year, I have been used to moving up the ranks and I know a few places to make the difference. My race will depend on how quickly I get back into the Top 5.”, underlined the future Renault driver.