4
Max Verstappen was "in a class of his own" in Hockenheim, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
In one of the most unpredictable races in recent memory, Verstappen came out on top in an afternoon where he saw his competitors fail.
Ralf Schumacher Predicts "Two-Horse Race" Between Verstappen and Russell
Red Bull to Fast-Track Major Updates for Season Opener
There were crashes from Hamilton, Bottas, Leclerc, his teammate Pierre Gasly and many other drivers.
The safety car was brought out on a number of occasions, which put a lot of pressure on Red Bull to choose the right strategy.
Even with a 360 degree spin, Horner was full of praise for the young Dutchman.
“Unbelievable,” said Horner. “To win a race like that when conditions are like this, it’s a little bit of a lottery anyway, but Max kept his head and he was brilliant out there.
“Those kind of races, he really excels at,” he added, ”and he was in total control when he got to the front.
“We were just trying to make sure we kept the right tyre at the right time, and in those sorts of conditions where there’s no point looking at the radar, different things are happening at different corners, you’ve just got to try and be on the right tyre at the right time.
“We were giving him all the information we could about where he was tyre-wise compared to his opponents and he was still able to push push push – and once he’d got clean air, then he was in a class of his own.”
Verstappen added: “It was amazing, of course to win, but it was really tricky out there."
“We made the right calls and you really had to be focused. We pitted onto the slick tyre, had a little moment, made a nice 360 so that was nice. Enjoyed that.
“It was all about trying to not make too many mistakes,” he added. “You learn, over the years. I was very happy with the whole performance today.”
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
980 members have this team as their favourite
Replies (4)
Login to replyajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Not to take away credit from Max who has been spectacular. But in thus particular race Max was solid but not in a class of his own. He was just the beneficiary of a crazy amount of mistakes made by others. He was also incredibly fortunate not to crash or damage his car.
What a fun race. Three in a row now. The french GP feels like it was such a long time ago
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It does, doesn't it? Such a breath of fresh air in an otherwise very stale season. I can only say "more please!"
As for Verst: true, but I think that the fact he wasn't part of the carnage is a merit on it's own, in a race where even drivers like Hammy Leclerc and Hulk had run offs he went and won. This race doesn't necessarli solidify him as no 1 for me, but he is at least top 3.
Patentprutser
Posts: 396
Max was clearly by far the fastest man on track if he had clean air. After the safety car he drove Vettel at 7,3 seconde in 4 laps ego second fastest do why can’t you speak of a class of his own
f1ski
Posts: 726
I would disagree in a race where he spun he still stayed composed to and was patient stuck to his plan and prevailed. Lewis was fast but after the pit stop cycle worked against him and he crashed he came undone so to speak I believe the beginning of him showing some loss of performance perhaps. Vettel who has lost some performance of late i thought was brilliant. I haven't seen this type of driving from him in 4 years. The passing in corners where he set the others up to defend but then be unable to get back on. A great race . I think this is what we could see if F1 adopted a higher degrading tire and the gaps between the performance of the compound be larger and let the teams choose the tire not pirelli