F1 Azerbaijan GP: “It is what it is, we learned a lot,” Max Verstappen sounds similar to Lewis Hamilton on team radio post Baku loss to Sergio Perez
Max Verstappen has commented on losing the P1 position at the Azerbaijan GP 2023 to teammate Sergio Perez.
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After winning two back-to-back F1 World Championships in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Max Verstappen is indeed in favor to get his hattrick of world titles in this new season as well. The Dutchman has already made up a formidable point advantage with 93 points to his name, with two race wins in the first three Grands Prix of the 2023 season. But after enjoying a long spring break, once the F1 circus returned to racing with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Max Verstappen‘s luck did not shine upon him.
The modified Baku GP weekend saw Charles Leclerc take away the victory at the Sprint Shootout Round. During the Sprint Round, it was Sergio Perez who got the top position. And finally, in the Main Race, even after Max Verstappen leading the grid for quite some time, it was his Red Bull teammate Checo Perez who finally came out victorious after the grueling street race in Azerbaijan.
During the 50-lap-race in Baku, Max Verstappen had only one pit stop, and it was planned perfectly by his team personnel back at the Red Bull pits. Then, after quite a long period, Max Verstappen was disappointed to find the safety car come out, giving the drivers behind him, who had not yet pitted, a ‘free pitstop’. This led to Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc surpassing the Dutchman, and although Charles could not keep up with Verstappen’s pace, the 25-year-old finally lost the race to hi own teammate.
Max Verstappen blames surprise safety car deployment as the root to his Baku GP misfortune
While winning is a habit for Max Verstappen, the Dutchman is quite gracious about rare the times when he loses. Speaking over the team radio at the end of the Azerbaijan GP which he could easily have won were it not for the poor timing of his pitstop and the surprise yellow flag, Max Verstappen said, “It is what it is and we didn’t know the safety car would come out there. We learned a lot and it’s a good team result.“
At the post-race interview, Max Verstappen once again blamed the surprise safety car for his losing out on the race win today. He said, “I think with the safety car I was a bit unlucky, then I had to push a bit to stay close to try and get into the DRS. Then the tyres start to overheat. I struggled also with the balance which wasn’t consistent and I was fiddling around with the tools.“
But all is not lost for Max Verstappen with a simple misfortune at the Azerbaijan GP. There are 19 more Grands Prix left, and he is still reigning at the top of the World Championship standings.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)