Verstappen raises the bar, Ricciardo furious at being the target of problems

Bummer Friday evening, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was smiling again 24 hours later in Suzuka (Japan). The Dutch, disappointed with the behavior of his car equipped with a new rear wing in free practice, reversed the trend during qualifying, by setting the third best time.

Despite an advantageous position on the grid, Max Verstappen does not expect to fight against the Mercedes or Ferrari. “I just tried to be as close as possible. I am satisfied with the level of aero downforce. Kimi (Räikkönen, 4th) is going to put pressure on me and I think Sebastian (Hag, 8th) will move up the hierarchy. We just need to have a good race strategy. »

Offside for the title race, will Max Verstappen make it easier the passage of Sebastian Vettel ? “I would definitely have to defend myself at some point in the Grand Prix. I will do my best to keep my place. » True to his spontaneous character, the Red Bull protégé even blurted out: “Is there still a fight? (enter Hamilton and Vettel) ? I'm not sure. »

His teammate Daniel Ricciardo was for his part frankly ulcerated. Stopped in his tracks at the start of Q2 due to an electronic accelerator problem, the Australian will start 15th. A cry of rage was even heard through his helmet!

When things don't go your way, and it's not down to you, it's hard to take

It means SO much to these guys

But you can be sure @danielricciardo will give it everything on Sunday #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Xqsot6iHab

— Formula 1 (@F1) 6th October, 2018

“As soon as I came out of the chicane to start my first qualifying lap in Q2, I felt something was wrong. I didn't have all the power, and I could tell that the turbo or another component was having trouble.", explains the future official driver Renault.

“I don’t get any relief right now, and I’ve had enough. I'm doing everything in my power, but it's not working properly. It annoys me because if it was my fault, if I let myself go, it would be different, but I still want to do the maximum for Red Bull until the end of the season. Every race is important », explains Daniel Ricciardo, who has for once lost his smile.

Never stingy with tackles, Christian Horner was content to say that this kind of mechanical damage “did not fall under (S)we control ». Implicitly, the main English Team is targeting its supplier Renault. What a soap opera!