Just one week after securing his fourth World Drivers’ Championship Title, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen claimed victory after a thrilling Qatar GP race. While speaking with the media after his win, Verstappen described the race as “very good” and “a lot of fun” despite the three safety cars brought out during the race. The Dutchman added that he was especially happy to have improved his form in dry conditions, and dedicated the victory to his team.
“Yeah, it was a very good race. Of course, already yesterday in qualifying, the car was a lot better. And, yeah, today, that first stint was very, very fast. Lando and I were just within 1.8 seconds of each other the whole time, pushing each other. And honestly, it was a lot of fun out there.”
“This track has a lot of grip. And this year, the tyres were really holding on. So that was honestly a lot of fun to be really pushing the tyre. And yeah, we went really long in that first stint.”
“After that, of course, there were a few Safety Car moments that you had to take care.”
“But very happy. It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive and very proud of everyone within the team to turn it around within a day. So they definitely also deserve this victory.”
Verstappen had “great” first stint during Qatar GP race
During the FIA post-race press conference, the Dutchman denied that his race had been “straightforward”.
“I mean, it’s never straightforward.”
Verstappen explained that he had been under significant pressure from McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris during the first stint of the Qatar GP race. This, he said, had required him to push harder to avoid losing his position while trying to minimise tyre degradation through appropriate tyre management.
“I think in the first stint as well, you know, with Lando being there, honestly, I think the gap has been between 1.6 and 1.9 seconds, the whole stint, which you can’t afford to make a mistake. And he didn’t, I didn’t, and we were just pushing flat out at one point.”
“And it was honestly really enjoyable to drive because, of course, most of the races that we do, the tyres deg and you have to manage a lot.”
“It felt like here you could push a bit harder and the track as well, the layout, I enjoy a lot. The grip is very good on the track. So yeah, that was a great stint.”
Norris was “very quick” in the final corner
However, when questioned further on his first stint, Verstappen identified that he had had to push harder in the final sector of the race as Norris had been “very quick” in the final corner. The Red Bull driver stated that the final sector had been “a little of a weakness” for Red Bull and highlighted that he had only managed to keep ahead of Norris by not making any mistakes.
“Most of the first stint, I felt quite good in the first two sectors. But then in the final sector, I think Lando already started pushing a bit more from the beginning of the race. And I was managing probably a little bit more.”
“But then at one point, of course, he tried to close the gap and I had to push also harder in the last sector. But I think still he was being very quick also in the last corner, which has been a little bit of a weakness for us, even in qualifying.”“So, yeah, it just evened out around the lap, almost every single lap. So, yeah, it was nice. I enjoyed it. It’s just, you know, making sure that you don’t make any mistakes.”
Involvement of Safety Cars caused “tricky” second stint
However, despite his “great” first stint, Verstappen described the second stint as “very tricky” due to the involvement of the Safety Cars. He claimed that his tyres became too cold under the Safety Car conditions, and this resulted in him losing grip and traction.
“Then, of course, the second stint was a bit more stop-start with the Safety Cars involved and then of course the temperature as well in the tyres was very tricky because my middle restart wasn’t particularly great. I tried something else but the grip was… The tyres basically were too cold, so I just kept on sliding and having no traction. So that was not ideal.”
Regarding his second restart from under safety car conditions, the Red Bull driver explained that, due to the Safety Car conditions, he had been unable to suitably warm up his tyres, and had had no rear grip. However, despite his difficult restart, Verstappen highlighted that he finished the race with “good pace.”
“On the Hard tyres, there’s very little grip. You know, you just come out of the box, so they’re already cold. And then immediately, of course, we had the Safety Car and behind the Safety Car, you can’t warm them up.”
“And then I tried something different out of the last corner where I had no rear grip, basically. So I just struggled for traction out of the corner. And then it got a bit spicy into Turn 1, but I think that’s great to see.”
“And then, yeah, after that, we drove it to the end with good pace. So, yeah, very happy to win here.”
However, despite his challenges in the second stint, Verstappen claimed that his overall race pace had been good.
“Besides that, the pace was good.”
Verstappen happy with improvements to RB20 shown during Qatar GP race
The Qatar GP race winner stated that he was “very happy” with the improvements that had allowed him to claim victory. He noted that the performance of the RB20 in dry conditions had been less than ideal over the recent months. However, while he said that the RB20 was not where he “would like it to be,” he acknowledged that its competitiveness had improved.
“A dry race like this for us has been a long time, so I’m very happy with the improvements that we made compared to the start of the weekend.”
“Yeah, I mean, the last few races in the dry, we haven’t been particularly strong on managing the tyres. And that’s why I was a little bit careful after qualifying. But yeah, it’s been nice.”
“I mean, it’s still not where I would like it to be in terms of the behaviour of the car compared to, let’s say, last year. But at least now, you know, we are back in a fight to win races.”
The Dutchman claimed to be especially happy by the turnaround in the RB20’s performance between the Qatar GP sprint race, where he finished an unimpressive P8, after failing to get past Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg. He claimed that the improvement was “one of the biggest” swings in performance that he had seen from his RB20.
“It’s probably been one of the biggest, yeah, where you’re fighting Haas in the sprint to fighting for the win in the main race. So, yeah, it’s been quite a big swing in performance.”
Red Bull needs to “take the positives” from 2023 and 2024 to build “better” car for 2025
He added that he hoped that Red Bull would use what they had learned from the 2023 and 2024 seasons to produce a “better” and more competitive car for 2025.
“So if we can just learn from this year’s car, take the positives, of course, from also last year and try to build a better car, I’m sure that we can be again very competitive next year.”
“Difficult to say” how RB20 will perform in Abu Dhabi
When asked if he would be able to match his excellent Qatar GP performance in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen admitted that it was “difficult to say.” He explained that while Red Bull was usually “quite competitive” in Abu Dhabi, the limitations of the RB20 could compromise his race.
“Of course, the last few years, we’ve always been quite competitive there. So I hope we can be competitive again.”
“It’s not about confidence. It’s just trying to understand this year’s car a little bit more, what it needs. Because we know what the limitations are on the car. And it’s about what we can do to make it better for next year.”
However, Verstappen added that the team would try to optimise the performance of the RB20.
“But of course, this was again a bit, maybe not an eye-opener, but it did show us like, ‘oh, OK, well, that works on this car’ and it made it a lot more competitive.”
“But we’ll pay attention to detail, you know, to try and optimise the car. And hopefully, yeah, we can fight for a win there again.”
“With double yellows, they’re quite strict” – Verstappen on Norris penalty at Qatar GP
Verstappen was also asked about his questioning of whether McLaren’s Lando Norris had “lifted” under the double-waved yellow flags brought out after Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon lost a wing mirror on Lap 30 of the Qatar GP race.
Despite the double-waved yellow flags on Lap 30, Verstappen noted that by Lap 32, Norris had reduced the gap between them to 1.2 seconds. As he believed that this would not have been possible if Norris had reduced his speed as required, he asked his team to check whether Norris had “lifted” in the yellow flag zone.
Norris was subsequently found in breach of Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 b) of the International Sporting Code and was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty which he served in Lap 46. Three penalty points were also added to te McLaren driver’s super licence.
The penalty saw Norris drop to the back of the grid and though he put in a good effort to cut through the pack, he ultimately finished P10, earning just two points.
“It was just a normal question”
In response to being asked what his involvement in the matter said about him as a racing driver, Verstappen explained that he had lifted as he knew the regulations surrounding the use of double-waved yellow flags and had expected the same from all other drivers.
However, he added that, as he had come out of Turn 1, he had noticed that Norris was closer to him than he had expected. As he knew that Norris would have had DRS, he asked his team to determine whether Norris had followed the regulations. Verstappen claimed that his question to his team was normal, as he knew that the stewards were often strict when enforcing safety-related regulations.
“Well, I mean, I knew that I lifted because I saw the double yellow. And I know that, of course, if I wouldn’t have lifted, it would have been investigated straight away. So you’re just on it.”
“I mean, yeah, I asked if he lifted because he had a DRS, I think, from a backmarker at the same time as well. And then, of course, when we came out of Turn 1, I saw that he was a lot closer. So I just asked the team to check it.”
“I mean, it was just a normal question.”
“And I know, of course, with double yellows, they’re quite strict.”
Verstappen unable to give “clear cut opinion” on delayed deployment of Safety Car during Qatar GP
During the post-race press conference, Verstappen also gave his thoughts on the delayed deployment of the safety car after Albon lost his mirror in the middle of the track. The Red Bull driver described the matter as “a tough call to make”. However, he added that he did not have a “clear-cut opinion ” on the matter as he did not have all the information about the incident.
“It was a bit difficult to see, to be honest, what it was. I didn’t even know it was a mirror.”
“Of course, I saw the debris, but we have done more races where there has been a bit of debris offline. So I guess it’s a bit of a tough call to make. But then I think at one point a car drove over it. And then, of course, there are like carbon bits flying everywhere.”
“And of course, I don’t know what the reason is, of course, of the punctures, but it’s maybe something to analyse. But at the moment, it’s a bit difficult for me to give a clear-cut opinion on that.”
Verstappen “couldn’t believe” Qatar GP grid penalty
The Qatar GP race winner also addressed the one-place grid penalty that he was handed after he was found to have driven “unnecessarily slowly on a cool-down lap” during the third qualifying session (Q3). Despite the stewards describing the case as “complicated” due to neither Verstappen nor Russell, the other involved driver, being on a push lap at the time of the incident, they stated that Verstappen had failed to comply with the Race Director’s Event Notes. As evident showed that the Red Bull driver had been outside the delta time, the stewards subsequently penalised Verstappen. This, saw him lose his P1 starting position for the race to Mercedes’ George Russell.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be nice”
Verstappen said he could not believe he had been penalized. However, he added that he was not surprised by it. Despite the penalty, it ultimately did not affect his Qatar GP race.
“Honestly, I mean… I couldn’t believe that I got it. But in a way, I was also like, yeah, I’m not surprised anymore in the world that I live in. So, yeah. You’re not happy with it. But at one point or another, you have to just turn the page.”
However, he added that he did not find the matter “very enjoyable to see.” Verstappen further expressed disbelief over the penalty as he claimed that he could not remember any other event where a driver was similarly penalised.
“But, yeah, it wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen, because I think that’s the first time that in a slow lap someone has been penalised.”
Verstappen lamented earning a penalty due to trying to “be nice.” He explained that his intention during qualifying had been to avoid affecting other drivers preparing for their lap.
“While, actually, I just tried to be nice. So maybe I shouldn’t be nice.”
“But the thing is that, you know, well, being nice, because at the end of the season, everything is more or less decided, for me especially, I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, you know, being nice, basically you get a penalty.”
Verstappen felt like he was “talking to a brick wall”
The Red Bull driver claimed that he had tried to explain his view of the incident but had felt disregarded despite having raised valid points.. He compared the experience to “talking to a brick wall”
“And that’s what I tried to explain as well. But I just felt like I was talking to a brick wall.”
“So there’s not much that was possible for whatever reason.”
“Well, I think I really spoke about valid reasons of what happened and it was clear cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tyres and stuff so they had to push anyway and I didn’t want to then cause a scene into a last corner. and then, you know, no one had a lap.”
“So very, very surprising.”
Verstappen “lost all respect” for Russell after meeting in Stewards’ room
The Dutchman criticised George Russell’s behaviour in the Stewards’ room. He described it as “disappointing” and claimed that he had “lost all respect” for Russell.
“Yeah, I was quite surprised when sitting there in the Stewards’ room, what was all going on.”
“Honestly, very disappointing because I think we’re all here, we respect each other a lot and of course, I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life, in my career with people that have raced and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard.”
“And that for me… I lost all respect.”
While speaking with Viaplay after the press conference, Verstappen further criticised the Mercedes driver. He claimed that Russell was a “completely different person” off-camera and added that he did not want to have to deal with such behaviour.
“He always does it very nicely here in front of the camera, but then when you’re inside with him in person, it’s just a different person.”
“I can’t stand that and it’s actually better for him to fuck off. I don’t want to get involved in this.”
