A day of two faces for Red Bull and Verstappen. The Sprint race, heavily affected by the weather, once again showed that the Austrian team is far from perfect in its execution this weekend. On Friday, only the leniency of the race stewards spared the Dutchman from a penalty, after he was found to be on the racing line during Norris’s flying lap, and again later during Lance Stroll’s lap.
Too many errors from the Austrian team
Not to mention the clumsy elimination of Yuki Tsunoda in SQ1, caused by a poorly timed outlap that didn’t allow him to start his second run. Even in the Sprint Race, the team led by Christian Horner made a mess, ruining the race of the four-time world champion and the unfortunate Kimi Antonelli with the unsafe release of car number 1.
Max has nothing to blame himself for, since the traffic light used by the team’s mechanics gave him the green light. The ten-second penalty was inevitable, considering how dangerous the move was—it caused the left endplate of the RB21 to break, which in turn prevented Kimi from reaching his pit box to switch to slicks. The driver from Bologna was forced to do a kind of “drive-through” without being able to change his tires.
Max irritated by the team’s carelessness
The devil is in the details, and this year the performance of Red Bull’s mechanics is not up to the level of previous seasons. A carelessness that Verstappen openly criticized, admitting that his team had created a potentially very dangerous situation. These are unacceptable lapses for someone trying to make sense of this season.
We’re talking about a guy who, in less than 48 hours, flew back and forth from Monaco to Florida to be present for the birth of his daughter, and still seemed the sharpest of everyone at Red Bull. Without that mishap and the resulting penalty, the Dutch superstar could easily have finished the 100-kilometre sprint in third place.
Instead, he crossed the finish line in fourth, having been overtaken by a great move from Lewis Hamilton, who perfectly timed the switch from intermediates to slicks—a decision strongly pushed for by the driver himself, which Verstappen praised in post-Sprint interviews. To make the first part of Max’s weekend even more bitter, the race ended under Safety Car conditions.
That, combined with the penalty, sent him down the order. Yuki Tsunoda’s desperate early switch to slicks paid off with an unexpected points finish (sixth place, editor’s note). The Japanese driver did a great job keeping his RB21 on track in the early corners, when the tires weren’t yet up to temperature and the track was still damp in several sections.
Max Verstappen’s new approach
Qualifying was very complicated for all the teams. The morning downpour had once again made the track “green,” benefiting cars with greater mechanical grip. Verstappen, once again, showed that he could rise above disappointment and technical disadvantage by putting everything he had on track—despite fatigue and jet lag.
To be fair, in the second Q3 run he made a clear mistake going into Turn 1, but the stopwatch proved him right, as he still managed to set the fastest time in the first sector. In the other two sectors, he tried to extract the most from the tires, especially through the tight middle part of the lap. In the end, just like in previous poles, the rivals were beaten by a handful of thousandths.
Statistically, after six Grands Prix, the talent from Hasselt is the driver with the most pole positions so far: three. And that’s without having the best car, which is still the super McLaren MCL39. At the end of qualifying, the world champion didn’t seem particularly thrilled, fully aware that what was shown in qualifying will be hard to replicate over the full 300 km of the race.
Max Verstappen is already a legend
It seems clear that Max is focused on maximizing his own performance, without looking too much at the standings—which, in any case, could have been better. He’s fighting in a different kind of championship now, and he’s winning it with ease. The one reserved for the greatest of the category: the widespread recognition that he is the best driver around. Norris admitted as much when he said Max pulled off one of his usual bits of magic at the end of qualifying.
Fernando Alonso has been saying it for some time, as have the vast majority of team principals—including Ferrari’s. It’s impossible not to see it. We’re talking about an extraordinary talent, a ruthless competitor who seizes every opportunity to make a difference—always and in every situation. It’s unknown whether the Dutch driver is aiming to break the sport’s records.
What’s certain is that in the years to come, his name will be remembered. And that’s despite those who, not long ago, claimed that if Verstappen weren’t around, no one would notice. Many have since changed their minds. Better late than never. Today, despite public statements to the contrary, we all know Max will do everything he can to try and win the race and claw back points from the two McLarens.
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