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Verstappen: I f*cked up the first six races of 2018

Published on 14 Nov 2018 13:16
6
By: Fergal Walsh

Max Verstappen admits that he didn't do himself any favours during the opening six races of the season. The Dutchman got himself into a series of disruptive weekends, bringing criticism from the fans and the press.

Verstappen made contact with the wall or another driver at the first six events of the year. However, he has since gone on to take nine podiums, including two victories at Austria and Mexico. The 21-year-old almost won last time out in Mexico before he was spun around by Esteban Ocon.

The Red Bull driver has taken the blame for the early season mistakes: “This year, the first six races, I basically f*cked up. Afterwards, we did a much better job. It’s not really changing my approach to how I’m racing.

"I’m still the same person. I’m always going for the gap, you could see that in Mexico as well, I was there to win and not be second. I just wanted it too much initially. I really wanted to try and challenge even with the package we had it was not possible.

“Sometimes my dad told me ‘when I’m going slow, I’m still going fast enough.’ I got that approach back after Monaco, and it seemed to make me faster than I was before, but without mistakes.”

Verstappen's career has been moulded by his father Jos, who is a former Grand Prix driver himself. The former Toro Rosso driver says that he sought out his father early on in the season when he was having issues.

"He’s the only one who really knows me,” Verstappen stated. “We share everything together, so I think it’s always good to reflect, and you can always improve which everybody can. That’s what we did.

“Of course in some critical situations, like it was in the beginning of the year, then of course you talk a lot about it. It would be wrong to be really stubborn and try to fix it yourself, then you always go back to the person who really knows you."

F1 News Max Verstappen Esteban Ocon

Replies (6)

ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
The fact that he has admitted to mistakes in those races is a huge step forward. The kid is getting better and once his character fully matures who knows who'll be able to beat him. In the meantime his rivals should keep exploiting his weaknesses of character that bring about the red mist and the unforced errors.
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- Nov 14 2018 - 15:26
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  He does have the potential to become a multi-champ. I hope RB-Honda nails it for next year, I'd like to see Max and Gasly vs the Merc' drivers and the Ferraris in about matched cars (which I doubt RB-H will have, mind, but at least similar level as this year).
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  Nov 14 2018 - 15:58
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  @Calle fairly evenly matched cars. That's all I hope for. This year was great, but ultimately underwhelming with Sebastian once again choking when it counted. Besides, I think people really would like to see Max going against Lewis. I know I would. The battles we've seen have been... not really battles, as Max was never really a championship challenger this year.
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  Nov 14 2018 - 17:04
jaybee

Posts: 16
Judging by Max's performance in the latter part of the season, he won't need RB-H to be equivalent to MB and Ferrari in order to be an equal contender. The genius of Adrian Newey is worth quite a few HP, and Max's samurai racing style is exactly what will inspire Honda - as it did when they favored Senna over Prost. But if Honda matches MB and Ferrari, then Max could well dominate the season.
So, for purely selfish reasons, I hope Honda will lag just enough to make 2019 really exciting.
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- Nov 15 2018 - 00:40
sadosalo

Posts: 198
If Max gets matching HP with the Honda engine the race is on, who can beat him but himself.
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- Nov 15 2018 - 00:42
F1todayfan101

Posts: 120
Good things come to those who wait lad. You've got time on your side and I'm sure we will see you on the top step, regularly, eventually.
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- Nov 15 2018 - 01:43