Victory in the Spanish Grand Prix lifted Max Verstappen to first position in the drivers’ championship, something he had lost at the start of the 2022 season due to the great form of Ferrari and, above all, Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque remained firmly at the top of the championship from the opening round in Bahrain, and his power was reinforced thanks to the abandonment due to mechanical problems of the Dutchman in the same race in Sakhir and in Australia.
However, the reigning world champion only knows what it is like to finish a race this year if it is as a winner, since he has won four grand prizes, three of them consecutively.
Although Verstappen was aware of the performance of the Prancing Horse car in Monaco due to its slow corner exit, he was not expected to be so far from the pace shown today by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who commanded Friday’s free practice in the Principality.
Asked about the Red Bull’s lap time relative to the Ferraris on the treacherous streets of the Côte d’Azur, the Dutchman said: “In general, we’ve been testing a few things to see how the car behaves.
“I think also in FP1 and FP2, of course, it felt a bit better, the balance can make you attack a bit more,” Verstappen continued. “Then their times become a bit better but, compared to Ferrari, we have to find a bit more, now we have to find the balance.”
The 60 minutes of testing available to the drivers in free practice after the modification that cut Friday sessions by half an hour, are few to test long runs, although the Red Bull driver is optimistic: “I think it was quite well, we have understood a little how we were going”.
In addition to the few minutes to test on this difficult track, in 2022 the new generation cars will be released, much more complex to enter the curve , something that the current world champion endorses.
“You can feel the weight of the cars, a bit heavier and a bit slower,” Verstappen explained. “The bumps are a bit more noticeable with these cars, because they are stiffer, but that’s fine. It’s a bit difficult with the visibility, but it’s still very difficult to drive here.”
