“He still has the killer instincts,” Tom Coronel believes Imola GP crucial for Max Verstappen’s title hopes
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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen the 2021 Formula One world champion after the first three races of the 2022 season has found himself currently sitting in sixth place on the driver’s standings and one of the main reasons behind this is the DNF-hit start that Verstappen has gotten off to during the current F1 season.
As per Dutch driver Tom Coronel, the upcoming Imola Grand Prix holds great significance for Verstappen and he believes that his fellow dutchman cannot afford another DNF finish or a bad result at Imola.
Verstappen currently has only 25 points on the board to show for his efforts so far in the 2022 season whereas his main rival Charles Leclerc has already built a 46-point gap to Verstappen by scoring “mega” 71 points in the first three races.
Tom Coronel has defined Red Bull’s DNFs as “a small KO on the nose.”
“Especially because they competed for the top prizes last year and now they have the speed again to constantly drive for the podium,” he said.
“I think that’s great, just look at Mercedes. With a second place in the first race, a win and now again in second place [Verstappen] had the speed and that’s what it is about. But yes, that also means if you give away twice that amount of points, you have a serious problem.”
“But in the end, you want to have a fight with two different teams. Like it was at the beginning of last year, that was of course mega. Then the dime could fall in a different direction every week with Mercedes and Red Bull. That’s what Formula 1 wants and for that, Imola just becomes crucial.”
Tom Coronel: Max Verstappen’s 2021 triumph has changed the way he thinks
“I thought Red Bull would already do something about the weight for Australia, but Imola is where the biggest upgrades come. So the question there is ‘are they there or not?’”
Coronel has suggested that Verstappen’s 2021 triumph has changed the way the Dutchman’s mindset now works and while talking about the same has said, “Of course, he is getting older and more mature,” he said. “But it also has to do with the world title he has in his pocket. Max and Jos (Verstappen) had the goal to become World Champion together and they succeeded. It sounds crazy, but the goal has been achieved.”
“It’s about the way of thinking and certainly not about the hunger. When he’s in that car, he still has that killer instinct. After 30 years of motorsport, I was taught that.”
“There were moments when I thought ‘outside, that’s not possible, but it was possible. That is also exactly why he is Max Verstappen and I am packing my camper today for a different racing level. Anyway, I mean to say the title gives a piece of rest.”
However, Coronel has indicated that with Max Verstappen behind the wheel anything is possible.
“With Verstappen, the world title has never been completely lost – last year he did the impossible,” he added.
“With other drivers, I would perhaps say the chance has already been lost, but due to Verstappen’s attack mode, I am not saying that yet. Giving up is not in his dictionary.”
Coronel has backed the 24 years Verstappen to make a huge push towards the 2022 title in the coming races and given the aggressive drive style that Max has got in him, one would not be in their right mind to bet against the 2021 champion Max Verstappen.
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Rishabh Negi
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