Max Verstappen claims he almost crashed in the ‘grandstands’ en route to Emilia Romagna GP victory

Max Verstappen was under immense pressure during the final stages of the race as Lando Norris tried to challenge the Dutchman for victory.

Max Verstappen claims he almost crashed in the ‘grandstands’ en route to Emilia Romagna GP victory

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna GP after a challenging weekend. The reigning world champion had to face several issues with the car set-up before taking pole position. Moreover, the Dutch driver needed to fend off Lando Norris in the ending stages of the race. Now, Verstappen has revealed that he almost crashed during the Grand Prix.

The three-time world champion had decent pace in his first stint with medium tires. However, Max Verstappen claimed that he struggled with the hard tires after his first and only pitstop. So much so, that the Dutch driver was unsure whether his tires could even reach till the end of the race.

As soon as I swapped to the hard tires, maybe not the first five to 10 laps but after that, I was like: 'I'm not sure I can bring this to the end.
Max Verstappen said, as reported by Motorsport.com
YouTube video

Verstappen reckoned that the hard tires simply went out of the operating window within a few laps. The reigning world champion claimed that it felt like he was driving on ice in the latter half of the race. Moreover, Max Verstappen asserted that he almost crashed into the grandstands at Turn 7 in what had been a very difficult race.

FS Video
The tires just fell out of the operating window and it was just like driving on ice, really snappy. At Turn 7 I almost ended up in the grandstands, for my feeling, at some point.
Max Verstappen explained

Max Verstappen admits he was surprised by Lando Norris’ pace at Emilia Romagna GP

Max Verstappen had led the race at Imola from the start. The Dutch driver initially created a healthy gap to Lando Norris who was in second-place. However, Verstappen lost plenty of time on hard tires which allowed Norris to gain time against the reigning world champion.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (Credits: IMAGO)

Verstappen admitted that he was simply trying to survive when he spotted Lando Norris step up his pace. Eventually, the Dutch driver found the McLaren right behind him in the final stages of the race. Max Verstappen confessed that he was not sure if he could retain the race lead till the chequered flag.

I was really trying to survive at the time, and then suddenly Lando really picked up pace. I could see him catch up and I was not sure if I could keep him behind. As soon as it was half a second lap, that's a lot.
Max Verstappen stated

Nevertheless, Max Verstappen emerged victorious at the Emilia Romagna GP. The reigning world champion performed under pressure and made no mistakes. However, this race would alarm Red Bull about its competitiveness this season. As such, Verstappen and Milton Keynes have work to do to ensure their dominance stays intact this season.

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