Verstappen goes on the attack
This time Max Verstappen he really got down with it very hard. The four-time Dutch world champion, speaking to journalists present in China at the end of the Shanghai GP, said: the current technical regulation was trashed with words as heavy as boulders. The Red Bull standard bearer did not spare any aspect of the new single-seaters, also pointing the finger at those who had not listened to the warnings of the drivers that emerged in recent years. An opinion, that of the Dutchman, it seems clash with what Charles Leclerc expressed today at the end of his spectacular challenge with Lewis Hamilton.
“If someone likes this, then they really don’t know what motoring is. Terrible regulation? It’s the absolute worst. This is not motoring – thundered Verstappen – watch the race. You make a clean pass, then your battery runs out on the next straight, then you make a clear pass again. Are there those who like it this way because there are battles for victory? But it’s only Kimi or George who wins! And there isn’t really a battle. They are miles away from the rest of the group. Ferrari sometimes has these good starts with which it takes the lead, but then a couple of laps are enough to sort everything out“.
“I would complain even if I won”
And Verstappen also prevented the easiest accusation to make against him: you complain because you’re no longer winning. “Like I said, this has nothing to do with racing – continued the #3 of Red Bull – I would say the same if I were winning, because I care about the product. It’s not about being angry about where I am, because I’m actually struggling even more now, so you understand even better what you need to do. For me it’s a job“.
Max also defined this regulation as essentially hopeless: “It can be improved a little, but it is fundamentally flawed. Is the solution to reintroduce V8s as soon as possible? Yes, but I don’t think it will happen next year. This is all painful. Talk about it with Domenicali? Well, you have to be a little careful how you say these things – warned Verstappen – we’re talking about it. I think they understand our point of view as drivers. I think I speak for the majority of riders – the Dutchman then added – some, of course, will say it’s great because they’re winning races, which is understandable. When you have an advantage, why should you give it up? You never know if you’ll have a good car again. But if you talk to most drivers, this is not what we like. I don’t think that’s what real F1 fans like. Maybe some people like it, but they don’t understand racing. We hope to be able to get rid of this situation as soon as possible.”.
