Max Verstappen’s weekend began with the news that he was due to start from the back of the grid at the 2022 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix race after changing several components to his power unit. The Dutchman and his team decided to comply with the penalties strategically after learning that his closest rival in the fight for the world title, Charles Leclerc, had also introduced pieces that carried a penalty.
The current world champion managed to stay in the wake of both Ferraris in the first free practice session, although during the afternoon he was intractable and beat everyone by more than eight tenths, thus demonstrating his ability to come back.
When he got out of the car, it was put to him on the table if the penalty had affected his way of approaching the day on Friday, to which he replied: “Not much has changed, we have only investigated how to configure the car in the best way possible, and I think as soon as we got out, everything was working out pretty well.
“There are always little things you want to fine-tune, like balance, but basically, from the first time I went out on the track, I was happy with the car,” said the Red Bull Dutchman, before assuring that his intention is to climb positions on Sunday. “That’s what we’re going to try to do. Rather, we have to do it.”
Track conditions were not ideal at Spa-Francorchamps due to intermittent rain , which made testing difficult in both practice sessions. However, Verstappen ended up satisfied with his performance: “From the laps we did, I think the car was working well, and that’s positive. Of course, I would have liked to lap a little more, like everyone else, but so far it has It was a good start.”
The modifications to the legendary track were the highlight of the day, as there were many starts and incidents that ended up in the gravel, something the Dutchman was asked about: “When it started to rain a bit, we didn’t push much harder , so I don’t really think we have a clear idea about it.”
“I also think today was going to be the worst day for it, but we should have dry conditions,” said Max Verstappen at the end of Friday’s session in Belgium.
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