The reigning world champion recovered from a bad start in the sprint race last Saturday at Imola and managed to overtake Charles Leclerc in the final laps to add 8 more points to his locker, in addition to securing first position for the main event Sunday.
However, as exciting as his overtaking was and the extra loot he scooped up, Max Verstappen said his view on sprint weekends hasn’t changed.
In the past, the Dutchman explained that he did not like to have a single free practice session before qualifying, and the imposition of the parc fermé , which prevents changing the configuration of the car once it hits the track when the grid is decided.
When asked after his victory in the sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver explained that it hadn’t changed his mind: “No, for me it hasn’t, I’m still not a fan of the races like that because in the end they don’t change anything.
“It doesn’t matter if you have a good fight during the sprint race or the main race, I just like how the whole weekend plays out on a normal schedule a lot better,” he continued.
Although not too enthusiastic about the sprint format, Verstappen felt that they have managed to move ahead of Ferrari in terms of downgrading, as the change from Australia, where Red Bull was weaker, was due to a better balance of the RB18 .
“We had a very bad balance in qualifying and in the Melbourne race,” he said. “That hurt us a lot in terms of tire degradation on the front left.
“Imola fevery different. In Australia, Ferrari was doing very well, but if you understand everything, you have no problems, it is a hit or miss to see how the tires work, but what we learned in the second free practice worked in the race,” he commented. the champion of the world.
Verstappen acknowledged that some weight-saving measures by Red Bull helped him, although he could not specify to what extent it benefited him: “It’s hard for me to say, because [Friday] was a bit of an upset day, so it’s complex. compare”.
“The feeling is that it’s a bit better, and the car is lighter. I have a better feeling now, but the cars are still very new and sensitive with these tyres,” he said.
