Max Verstappen thinks he is driving better than his teammate Daniel Ricciardo this year. That is despite the fact the young Dutchman has not scored even half the amount of points compared to his fellow Red Bull driver Ricciardo.
But Verstappen says it's all about the reliability of his car. "What can I do?" the 19-year-old told Auto Motor und Sport. "I just have to see the positives of the season, which is qualifying. The speed is there," Verstappen said. "Even in the race I was always in good positions before I failed."
He rejects the notion that his driving style is somehow contributing to his constant technical problems. "My approach is right, so why should I change something? I am fast," he said. "We can see from the telemetry that I don't do anything wrong or different to Daniel. It's just funny that the problems on race day are always on my car."
Still, Verstappen says he is consoled by the fact that he is regularly beating Australian Ricciardo in qualifying. "Daniel was always known as a fast qualifier," he said. "He is very fast. But I am faster this year by three or four tenths on average. That's a lot of time."
And so with a Mercedes or Ferrari at his disposal, he is "100 per cent convinced" that he would be fighting for the title. "I am very self-confident," Verstappen added. "I am also honest and straightforward -- I do not lie. The only thing I want is a winning car." He will not comment on Red Bull's potential post-2018 future with Honda, saying only that Renault is pushing to up its game.
But Verstappen said he is happy with Red Bull. "In general the mood in the team is better and better," he said. "In the corners we are close to the others, but often we use more downforce to compensate for our power deficit so it's hard to say exactly where we need to improve. Everything is in the right direction, but much of it is not in our hands. The car is our hands though and so that's what we have to make the most of." (GMM)
What's the saying - if you want to finish first, first you have to finish. Can claim to be faster all he wants but at the end it's always Smiley in front.
He has been faster this year, he has clearly improved from how he raced last year, a shame he hasnt been able to show it as much in the actual races. Both Renault and Honda need to step it up, the sport cannot afford to have good drivers get penalized for something that is out of their control. Likewise, the FIA really shouldnt proceed with their intentions to limit allocations to just three, because it leaves little swingroom even for teams with reliable engines. Imagine if you survive on 3 units all season, only to have your units get blasted to bits in an incident, and because of that you get a penalty. I find that thought worrying.
I agree with your points. Didn't think about the situation when pu goes to bits in an accident. However if you put an rule in about that situation would the drivers exploit that rule? Not sure what the solution is, however Mercedes/Ferrari will try to exploit any ruling that is made.
I dont really see how drivers would be able to exploit a rule regarding exceptions for when you are allowed to take extra allocations. Unless someone would actively crash themselves to ruin their current units in order to get a new allocation, which would be madness, and would still result in penalties. How do you think such rules would be exploited?
What's the saying - if you want to finish first, first you have to finish. Can claim to be faster all he wants but at the end it's always Smiley in front.
"He rejects the notion that his driving style is somehow contributing to his constant technical problems."
What a bullsh*t. His driving style has never caused the technical failures, that is acknowledged by RBR and even Renault so why is it comig up here again.
3 times he has been a casualty of others who made mistakes or took to much risks. why is Max' driving an issue here!
He is fast and this season he beats Ricciardo in qualifying, end of story!
I agree with you, but I think if Max would be a bit more patient, he could have had better results in at least 2 races this season (fracas with Ricciardo and again with Massa)
Is he faster than Ricciardo, yes for sure and those that matter will see that, but in the end of the day, prices are handed out at the end.
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What's the saying - if you want to finish first, first you have to finish. Can claim to be faster all he wants but at the end it's always Smiley in front.