Max Verstappen was ultimately happy with a podium finish at the Spanish Grand Prix after a frustrating early battle with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen finished second at the inaugural Spanish GP at the Madring, but the Dutch driver was less than happy with how the opening lap played out.
Verstappen cut the chicane at Turn 1, gaining a position on Hamilton, being left little space to make the corner. Hamilton instantly took to the radio to say he should be given the position back, as Verstappen simultaneously reported that the Ferrari was “out of control” and “almost shunted into me”.
Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, instructed him to give the position back to avoid any potential penalty. He did so, but not without complaints, describing racing as “F***ing Mickey Mouse” over an unaired team radio.
Despite being given the position back, Hamilton retired from the Spanish GP only a few laps later with a brake issue. Verstappen went on to finish on the podium alongside Lando Norris and race winner Kimi Antonelli.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, he felt that a win was not on the cards in Madrid but he was satisfied with his result.
When asked what he would take from the race, he replied:”Yeah, maximised the result. Probably a bit lucky with, of course, the unlucky situation for Lando. Because I didn’t have the pace of Kimi, and I definitely did not have the pace of Lando. So, yeah. We’re here on the podium.
“I think that’s, of course, great. But, yeah, we just still lack a little bit, you know, to really fight for the win. Because it might have looked a little bit like we were in a fight for the win, but that was more because Kimi was getting held up by Charles.
“As soon as he had, Kimi, he just drove away from me again, and I was busy with Lando behind me. But around here, you just drive a little bit in the middle, and, yeah, you can’t pass.”
Max Verstappen says he “had to go off the road” to avoid damage in Turn 1
Not only did Verstappen have to give Hamilton a position back, but this also required letting Antonelli through as well, since he had overtaken the Italian after overtaking Hamilton.
“I would have had damage at the start, if I would have stayed on track,” he said when asked if the win could have been possible had he not had to let Antonelli past.
“But then the win was also not on. It’s as simple as that. I just did my own thing in Turn 1. But Lewis went for a move on the first two, and bottomed out on the kerbs. So he just jumped back onto the track, and that’s why I had to go off the road.
“If I would have stayed there, I would have definitely had contact. So then my race could have potentially been over in Turn 2. And that’s why I think where we are now, I’m happy to be where we are now.”
READ MORE – Kimi Antonelli christens the Madring with maiden F1 Spanish GP win
Discussion about this post