Max Verstappen said he is encouraged by the straight-line speed of his Red Bull after the team’s strongest qualifying performance of the year so far.
He qualified third on the grid, one place lower than his best so far this season, but his 0.365 second deficit to pole position is the closest Red Bull have come all year.“We did a very good job setting up the car for this weekend compared to some other weekends where we have been a bit further away, where I was not entirely happy with the car,” said Verstappen. “So I think we really more or less maximised so far what we could do this weekend.
“We started straight away with a positive balance in the car, I think the right wing level for our car, so I guess that explains it a bit.
“Maybe the track characteristic as well a little bit. We seem to be a bit better on higher downforce tracks with the car. So I think that might explain the four, or whatever, tenths it is.”
Verstappen hopes his car’s stronger performance through the final sector at Mugello, including the two longest flat-out sections, can help him challenge the Mercedes drivers in the race.
“For once we have quite decent top speed this year,” he said. “So I think that’s quite good around here.
“But it won’t be easy to pass. At least the track, the last few corners, they’re a bit wide and long so you can do a few different lines.
“But it’s all going to anyway depend on, firstly, if you have the pace to follow, and second of course tyre degradation.”
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mystic one (@mysticus)
12th September 2020, 16:27
Red Bull always been a high downforce car, but top speed balance is where the game is at long runs… Obviously the track suits them but, lets see overall how that high downforce will effect race pace/tyres in the race stints…
David Bondo
12th September 2020, 17:20
I’m not sure the track suits them Albon was 8 tenths behind Bottas who is similar in ability.
I think Max made up the difference as he has done throughout the year.
Drg
12th September 2020, 17:38
Course you do…
For goodness sake can you give up the ‘Max is best at everything’ rant in absolutely every thread?
He is a great racer – we are all impressed. We do not need you to keep bending facts to fit a narrative.
At the moment he is a five year experienced racer in a car that has at times been better on track than the Merc. He did not get the results one would expect.
Sometimes matters fell right and he has won a few races. A few races.
He has a team completely and totally focussed on him. Good, they should. Others are not so fortunate.
Your constant refusal to accept he is racing probably the best ever does him no favours.
He has yet to win a championship (actually any season long one) and hopefully we will see that in the future. Next door is a chap who has won many.
In the meantime the constant my car is slower (I mean really? Alonso or Hamilton won over 40 races in slower cars before the days of it becoming a fact or excuse) monologue along with you on every thread is actually doing nothing other than making his efforts see paltry, good or otherwise.
At least recognise the fact that others on the grid are doing just as good a job. I mean for once his team got his team mate just behind him.
Acknowledge others are doing a good job. Then we might accept your ridiculous he is ‘super human’ slant!
David Bondo
12th September 2020, 17:46
Max is at a massive disadvantage in the RBR.
Mercedes has had front row lock outs in all by one race. That’s not normal if you look at the history of the sport. It’s unprecedented dominance.
Hamilton has the qualifying edge on Bottas this year, but he doesn’t really smash him like Verstappen does Albon. Often a tenth or two tenths.
Albon could even be better than Bottas.
Albon has shown more race craft in a season than Bottas in his career. Already lulled Hamilton into committing two fouls during races. Bottas has never edged Hamilton in one on one combat. Struggles in combat with midfield teams sometimes despite the Merc having a massive edge on the field.
Dr
12th September 2020, 17:54
Oh please!
I am not getting hooked. You just keep believing what you do.
Max is not at some amazing disadvantage. Albon is not suddenly the second greatest racer is history.
Like it or not your boy is up against one of the best ever and falling short.
The fact that RB forget they have two drivers is the reason for front row lockouts which if you had any knowledge at all would acknowledge that it means very little over the long term.
Everything about this formula is driven by tyres.
And to suggest RB have somehow not used the knowledge of probably the best Aero guy in history and made six years of lemons? How on earth did someone like Ricciardo who must rank at the bottom of your list win so many races?
Madjaya
13th September 2020, 3:33
Hamilton teammate comparison to CrashMAXHappen is no contest. Hamilton face a very high experienced driver who can drag William to podium in the past in some occasions that was why Bottas landed Merc seat in 2017 not the others. On the other hand, Max teammate is all new kids on the block that’s why his pace spiked in comparison to all of his teammate.
baasbas
12th September 2020, 18:00
In my experience it’s best to just not reply.. something about ‘not feeding’ yada yada
Esploratore (@esploratore)
12th September 2020, 18:00
He didn’t get the results one would expect, what? He got everything he could’ve got considering he car he drove, I’m not saying he makes up 8 tenths, but he’s performing as well as hamilton.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
12th September 2020, 18:02
Alonso won over 40 races, what? Hamilton won over 40 races before getting a dominant car? He didn’t even win 20 before 2014, and alonso stopped at 32 races as far as I recall, how many mistakes are in that post?
Robbie (@robbie)
12th September 2020, 18:26
Drg So it’s ok for you to rant, but not others. I don’t see how you are any better when you start off by claiming David Bondo is saying Max is best at everything, which he wasn’t. And then you ask him to acknowledge others are doing a good job too, but yet this topic is about Max and his qualifying day today, not others, although I have no doubt that within another topic David would acknowledge others are doing a good job too.
Ranting about rants does you no favours.
anon
13th September 2020, 7:52
@robbie whilst David Bondo might not have said so in this particular thread, he has made claims elsewhere that Verstappen is best at everything elsewhere, along with rather hyperbolic claims about how much faster he thinks Verstappen is than everybody else whilst aggressively dismissing the ability of pretty much every other driver on the grid – so the complaint that the poster is making about David Bondo spamming a number of threads with those sorts of comments, a number of which seem to be intentionally trying to provoke conflict by the downplaying of other drivers, does nevertheless have some validity to them.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
12th September 2020, 20:15
Alonso didn’t even win 40 races in his entire career, and Hamilton won a total of 22 races before the start of the hybrid era.
Rott
13th September 2020, 8:01
Lol, another max worshipper.
Put Lewis in the other redbull and he would be 1 second ahead of this unproven guy in F1. For empirical proof, Lewis destroyed Alonso’s career, button was completely useless leading McLaren to somewhere they will never recover from, Rosberg humiliated himself running away like a little chicken after 15 years of trying and now Bottas not able to match.
Lewis is the GOAT. Deal with it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️