Tag Archives: Max Verstappen

October 19, 2024 · 7:23 pm

Verstappen: Remaining calm key to Red Bull finding winning form

Verstappen finally has that winning feeling again

Max Verstappen says that remaining calm through a difficult spell with the RB20 was the key to the Red Bull Formula 1 team finding its winning form again in Austin.

The Milton Keynes team came to COTA with an update package that helped Verstappen to secure pole for the sprint and then win it with ease.

It was his first victory since the Spanish GP in June, and came after a run of eight race weekends with a victory.

“I think what has been very important for us in the last few races is to remain calm and just work on the problems,” he said. 

“And that’s what we have done as a team. Just focus on ourselves. That’s the only thing that you can influence and control.”

Verstappen made it clear what it mean to return to the front of the field.

“I’m happy,” he said. “It’s been of course quite a few races where it was more like just looking behind, never really being able to attack, and now find the car had definitely had just more performance. I could push a bit harder.

“So very, very happy with today. I mean, looking at the whole race, I think Ferrari was also very quick. But for us, this was already much, much better.

“Of course, always a very hectic weekend like this, to get the car in the right window. But luckily, the last few times that we had a sprint, I think the car was in a good window. So, yeah, there’s a bit more pressure on delivering, but luckily, it’s working out for us.”

Asked if the RB20 was now back where it was earlier in the year he said: “Back where it was at the beginning of the season is difficult to say, because everyone is improving as well. It just feels a bit more together.

“And I think that is what we have been lacking. I mean, over one lap you can mask a lot of issues, but in of course, in the race, you need a balanced car, which was a bit of a struggle for us last year races. And now today, it was definitely a lot better.”

Regarding the rest of the weekend he added: I think over the whole race distance today, I think Ferrari was, was very fast. We’ll look into things to improve going into qualifying. But it’s a bit difficult to tell at the moment how we would be on full fuel.”

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October 19, 2024 · 2:30 pm

McLaren: More MCL38 updates to come in “next events”

Norris could manage only fourth in sprint qualifying

McLaren’s Austin update package unveiled at the Formula 1 US GP is not the last of the season with more updates expected to come over the “next events.”

The package declared for the Austin weekend includes a new front wing and associated front suspension changes, revised front and rear brake ducts, and a new single element beam wing.

However there are no changes to the floor, which has remained largely unchanged since Miami in May.

Lando Norris was fourth in sprint qualifying on Friday, acknowledging that there had been some balance issues as the team adjusted to the new package.

McLaren technical director of engineering Neil Houldley confirmed that more updates that were not signed off for use in time for Austin will be seen at upcoming races. Although he gave no details logic suggests that the floor will be one area that will change.

“We brought a lot of upgrades, or a lot of small upgrades for this event, said Houldley of the Austin package. “I don’t really want to go into too many details about what will appear at the next events, but there’ll be more coming, for sure.

“I think what we’ve been doing is just continue our development progress throughout the year. And at the moment, it turns out, really, that what we want to do is bring something that we know works. So we’re not trying to deliver something early.

“We’re in a good position in the championship. But what we don’t want to do is, is bring any confusion into the team about the results of the components we’re bringing. So we’re waiting, and bringing them when they’re ready.

“Aerodynamically, we already know the upgrades that we’re going to be bringing to the next couple of events. So they’re ready in that sense, but they’re very much in manufacture, back at the factory.”

Houldley said the fact that Austin is a sprint weekend with limited practice did not influence the decision: “Not at all. We’re just ensuring that when we bring the parts, they’re the right ones, and they’re going to bring performance to the track.

“Actually the regulations that make it a little bit easier sometimes for a sprint event, when you’ve only got one component. For us we just bring it to the event that we can get it to in the fastest possible way. So whether it’s a sprint or a standard event doesn’t make a difference to us.”

The team only has one example of the new wing, which will be used by Lando Norris.

Asked by this writer if the cars were in the same spec Houldley sad. “Everything, apart from the front wing, we’ve got quantities of that both drivers can use.

“The front wing we’ve only got one of at this event, so we’re going to run that with both drivers in the practice session, and then it’s going to be given to Lando for the rest of the weekend.

“It just takes a while to develop and manufacture the parts, but they’ll all be available for Oscar in the next event.”

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October 19, 2024 · 2:02 pm

Mekies: Keeping Ricciardo’s final weekend secret was “frustrating”

Ricciardo was denied a proper send-off in Singapore

RB boss Laurent Mekies admits that Red Bull and the Italian team could have tackled Daniel Ricciardo’s last race weekend in Singapore in a different way and says the way it unfolded that it was “frustrating”.

All parties insisted during the weekend that no decision had been made on the Australian’s future, while it was clear to observers that Liam Lawson was being lined up to drive from Austin onwards. The official announcement was made the following week.

Ricciardo was thus denied the traditional farewell granted to retiring or departing drivers, something that did not gone unnoticed by close friend Max Verstappen.

“I think it was quite clear for me, and for Daniel, that that was the last race,” said the World Champion when asked by this writer for his thoughts on the subject.

“And yeah, for my side, I think it could have been handled a bit differently, also for him, because he knew it. But if you can’t say it exactly, it’s a bit of a shame.

“He’s done a lot for F1, he’s won races. He has had incredible races. And yeah, I think he deserved a nicer, let’s say, exit.”

Asked by this writer if it was frustrating to have to conduct the weekend in such a manner Mekies agreed that there was an option to tackle it in a different way.

“I think the answer is yes, it was frustrating,” said the Frenchman. “And yes, you’re right, it was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way, first of all for him, on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him.

“Yes, Daniel was aware. We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose together to go into that weekend without announcing. And from that point onwards, we had to deal with it.

“It’s a decision that, in hindsight, we may or may not do differently. But it’s something that we were, both the team and the drivers, were on board to go through that.

“I think in one way or another, we all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel, from the fans to Daniel.

“So I don’t know if it would have been better or worse, certainly different, more traditional, but I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend was something outstanding and something that shows that he’s bigger than an F1 driver, he’s bigger than F1.”

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October 18, 2024 · 8:33 pm

Brown: Red Bull could be guilty of “massive breach” with ride height device

RBR says it hasn’t changed ride heights under parc ferme

McLaren boss Zak Brown has suggested that Red Bull Racing could be guilty of a “massive breach” of the FIA regulations if it is found to have changed the ride height of its cars under parc ferme conditions.

The Milton Keynes team had admitted that it has a device in the cockpit that can be used by mechanics to adjust ride height, but the team insists that it hasn’t been used and wouldn’t work when the car is fully built.

The FIA intends to put a seal on it as a short term measure, while the team has agreed to modify the car. However McLaren and other teams still have questions.

“Typically, being able to run a car lower is a competitive advantage that makes the car quicker most of the time,” said Brown. “The FIA I think have done a very good job of identifying an element on a single race team.

“From what we can see from having looked at all the open source components, it’s the only team that has the ability to adjust the ride height from inside the cockpit.

“Whether they have or haven’t, I have no idea, but having the ability to do it raises questions. It’s very clear in the regulations, and it’s a material breach, that if you modify your race car, anything that you didn’t get permission on or driver comfort goes very much against regulations.

“So they’ve decided, from what I’ve read, to put a seal on it. And at the same time, we’ve heard from the team that you can’t adjust it when the car is fully race prepped. The car’s not always fully race prepped, in parc ferme on Sunday morning.

“So I think that needs to be unpicked. Why do you need to put a seal on something that you can’t get to in parc ferme or post part ferme a conditions. I still have questions that I need to better understand.”

He added: “If, and I say if, because I don’t know, it’s used in an inappropriate manner, then it is definitely a performance advantage.

“If it’s not, then there’s no performance advantage whatsoever. And I think that’s what we just want to better understand.”

Asked how serious the issue could be if the device was used under parc ferme conditions he said: “I think if you breach the parc ferme rules, that’s a massive breach. And so there should be consequences if that has happened, and that would be ultimately up to the FIA. We’ve seen it in sport before. We’ve seen in our sport, we’ve seen in baseball, we’ve seen in football.

“These things do happen, so we just put our trust in the FIA to address the issue. Moving forward, we’re just asking questions, but it’s up to the FIA, as our regulator, they do a great job to get on top of it and come up with a solution that is transparent and it’s satisfactory to all the teams. I think I’m not alone in our concerns for what we’re have seen and heard.”

Brown stressed that his main concern was how long RBR has had the device on its cars, thus potentially the ability to use it.

“I’ve got confidence that the FIA will resolve the issue,” he said. “I understand they’re having to modify and change their racing car for upcoming races.

“I’m not exactly sure when, so I’m confident in the FIA’s ability to address it moving forward, and our questions are a bit more around what has, maybe historically happened and understanding if it’s been used in an inappropriate manner.”

He added: “As long as the device has had the ability to be adjusted from inside the cockpit, I think is probably what needs to be reviewed.”

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October 18, 2024 · 6:52 pm

Correlation the key for Alpine as only Gasly gets new package

Only Gasly has the new A524 package in Austin

Pierre Gasly says that a successful correlation with simulations will be a more important outcome from the Alpine Formula 1 team’s A524 Austin update package than any specific gain in performance.

The Enstone team has brought a significant batch of updates to COTA including a revised floor, engine cover and rear wing, but only for Gasly’s car initially, leaving Ocon with the older spec.

Gasly says that it’s important for the team to prove to itself that it can translate what the wind tunnel and CFD say to the track as it pushes ahead with a development programme for the 2025 car.

Alpine has already committed to making major changes for next season when most teams are likely to carry over much of their current package.

“It’s a few new bits and pieces, new parts on the car, which have been worked on for over the past few weeks and months,” said Gasly when asked by the writer about the updates.

“We’re quite confident it’s going to bring the performance we expect. And we’ve had to wait for these parts. Hopefully, it can put us in a better position, because obviously the last few races have been pretty tough on our side.”

Gasly agreed that preparing for 2025 is the main focus rather than short-term gains.

“That’s the main target I see personally,” he said. “It’s more about the progress and development we’re going to see over the last six races. I’m not going to say I want us in Abu Dhabi to be fighting for 10th, ninth or 12th, it’s kind of irrelevant.

“But really [we want] to see the correlation between our tools and the stuff we’re working on delivering at the track, which will give us the confidence on next year’s package and the future. So that’s the main, I would say, objective until the end of the year.”

Expanding on the theme he said: “I think it’s still important this weekend to just see us moving forward in terms of performance, in terms of overall potential on the car. I think we are all aware of the situation.

“We all agreed as a team that whether we finish eighth in the championship or ninth in the championship, it’s not going to change anything.

“But the key thing here is the understanding and the belief that we can have in all the processes we’ve put in place over the last few months, and the work we’ve been doing into developing and finding performance on that package.

“Next year’s car is going to be very different, but we’re still learning, and everything we’re learning today will be useful for next year, and that’s why regardless of where we’re going to finish, it’s important that we do make these steps forward which and find that correlation.”

Gasly was given the updates this weekend as there are only two sets, leaving him with spares should they be needed.

“It was decided same as China earlier this year when we brought new parts, and Esteban had the new package and kept the spare parts for his car,” said Gasly. “And it’s the same this weekend, but the other way around.

“So it’s followed what we said back then, Esteban Ocon will get the first package, I’ll get the other one when it comes. So I’ll be the only one running it.

“So it’s my package and a spare, because obviously if you go into the weekend and lose any parts, then you’ll have to revert.”

Ocon meanwhile expects to have the new parts in Mexico next weekend.

“It’s been obviously a difficult run of races with the performance of the car,” he said. “That is very clear. Unfortunately, we maximised the potential in Singapore, but that wasn’t enough for us to be points scorers.

“Pierre will have upgrades. I will run the old car this weekend, and we should hopefully have the upgrades for the next races onwards.

“So we’re excited to see what that’s going to bring to the performance of the team, and hopefully it will be a better position for us to end this season.”

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October 18, 2024 · 2:44 pm

Verstappen downplays Red Bull ride height adjuster device

Verstappen says he didn’t know about RBR’s trick device

Max Verstappen has downplayed the controversy over a ride height adjustment device on the Red Bull RB20 – and the Dutchman says that he knew nothing about it until news of an FIA clampdown emerged in the media.

Rivals were alerted to the device when Red Bull was obliged to put some technical information on an open source website that all teams have access to.

It allows adjustment of the bib under the front of the car, and the concern was that Red Bull could change the ride height under parc ferme conditions, which would be against the rules.

However the team insists that it was never used for that purpose.

“Yes, it exists, although it is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run,” said an RBR representative.

“In the numerous correspondence we have with the FIA, this part came up and we have agreed a plan going forward.”

Verstappen insisted that the team gained no unfair advantage from it.

“It’s open source, right?,” he said. “Everyone can see it. For us, it was just an easy tool when the parts were off. It was easy to adjust, but once the whole car is built together, you can’t touch it. So for us, it doesn’t change.

“When I read [about] it, I was thinking about other teams doing it, and then I found out it was related to our team. We never even mentioned it in the briefing. So it’s just an easier tool to adjust that.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris downplayed the suggestion that a clampdown would hamper Red Bull and help McLaren.

“I mean, it’s one thing having it on your car,” he said. “It’s another thing on how much you exploit it and use it, which we have no idea on.

“If it has been helping them, if they’ve been utilising it in the way people think they have, then maybe it will shift in our direction.

“But when you talk about things like that, they’re not going to have got several pole positions or wins just because of such a device. I don’t think it really will change anything in the scheme of things.

“But when we look at maybe certain qualifyings and we look at the gap in certain races this year, when it’s been split by hundredths of a second in qualifying or even thousandths, then you might say, ‘OK, well, maybe this has helped in that direction or this direction’.

“But I think it’s good that the FIA are doing such a thing. There’s a difference between black and white stuff like this, and there’s a difference between F1 and pushing the boundaries and creating new things and innovating within the space that you’re allowed to innovate.

“And I think that’s what we as McLaren have done a very good job in. But we’re sure not to go any further than that.”

Meanwhile Oscar Piastri said: “We’re obviously pushing the boundaries of the technical regulations. Everyone is, that’s what makes F1 F1.

“But from what I’ve heard and been told something like this is not pushing the boundaries. It’s clearly breaking them. If it is something that’s being used, it’s clearly not been pushing the boundaries. It’s been out of the grey area and into the black area.”

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October 18, 2024 · 1:54 pm

Verstappen taking F1 title battle from “weekend to weekend”

Verstappen is in the spotlight – but he’s trying to keep the pressure off

Max Verstappen says he is taking the rest of the 2024 Formula 1 season from weekend to weekend and not wasting energy on thinking too much about the big picture of the title battle.

Verstappen also rated his chances of winning as “50-50” heading into the final run of six races.

The Dutchman currently holds a lead of 52 points over rival Lando Norris, with the gap having shrunk over recent races.

After a frustrating Italian GP Verstappen said it was “not realistic” to win the championship if the RB20 didn’t improve.

However the team has built on lessons learned that weekend, and those are reflected in the Austin update package.

“It’s 50-50, yes or no,” he said when asked about his title chances. “I don’t know. I mean, there’s a lot that can go well or can go wrong, in the six races, plus sprint races as well.

“So nothing is guaranteed from both sides. We’ll see. I prefer not really to think ahead too much, and really live from weekend to weekend.”

Asked if that really was his assessment of his chances he said: “It just because you say you win it or not, which is 50-50! So that’s why. I mean, I don’t really like to think about it too much.

“Like I said, I just live from race weekend to race weekend, because otherwise you’re just putting unnecessary thoughts in your head, which also costs energy, which I don’t want to waste. I’m thinking too much about racing.”

Verstappen also rejected the suggestion that he was under pressure over the last six races.

“You could say yes, but I’m not,” he said. “Because I know that when I jump in the car, I try to do the best I can. When the car is capable of good results, I’ll deliver the results.

“And yeah, when it’s not, then it will be a bit more difficult. Of course, naturally, I like to win races and championships. But yeah, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t, it’s how life is.”

Verstappen said he hasn’t run the update package in the Milton Keynes simulator, an indication perhaps of how recently it was signed off and sent into production.

“I actually didn’t try it,” he said. “So let’s see. We don’t have a lot of time to really test everything, but we’ll see how it goes. To be honest I don’t know at the moment what it will give.

“For sure, we learned a lot from Monza, and this definitely is from the learnings of Monza.”

Asked if it could close the gap to McLaren he said: “If you look at the pace in Singapore, the difference, for sure not. But every track is different.

“We know that Singapore is not our strongest track anyway I don’t expect that it’s going to be completely different, and we are going to be the dominating car.

“We have our limitations a bit with this car already the whole year. Now we’re trying to make it better. But, yeah, don’t expect it to completely swing.”

He admitted that it’s difficult to introduce an update on a sprint weekend with only FP1 in which to test it.

“You rely more on data then, because in one session, it’s very hard,” he said. Because you just start with the car, right? That’s the package, and you try to balance it, try to find the best setup on it.

“And then you rely, of course, on the data. Also from the engineers, if they’re happy with the upgrade or not.”

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October 18, 2024 · 11:15 am

Alonso: US GP upgrade package won’t be “a game changer”

Alonso says the Austin updates won’t for make a dramatic change in form

Fernando Alonso has downplayed the significance of Aston Martin’s update package for the Formula 1 US GP and suggested that new parts won’t be a “game changer” for any team.

The Spaniard says that at this stage of the season it will be hard for any teams to find significant performance with their latest upgrades.

Aston’s Austin package includes a revised floor, and is seen as in part as a preview of the direction that the team is taking for 2025.

“I don’t think expectations can be too high,” he said. “We have some new parts, but I don’t think that it will change the full picture.

“I think this part of the championship, the upgrades are quite small. I think all of them are just also in line to what the 2025 car is looking at the tunnel. So it’s more a half-test, half-performance, introduction.

“And for us, it’s important as keeping the good understanding of the car that I think we started to have after Budapest, and that’s probably the main target for this weekend, try to have a good correlation, and see that all the new parts are doing what we expect from them.

“In terms of performance and positions in qualifying of the race, I don’t think that is going to be a game changer for anybody.”

Asked by this writer how vital it would be to hit the ground running he said: “It’s going to be important.

“Sprint weekends are obviously a little bit more challenging, because you cannot really optimise things, and especially when you bring new parts to the car or something, then you have only that that shot in FP1, and then you commit at least for half of the weekend this year.

“But yeah, starting with the right feeling and confidence in the car will be important. That’s why today’s preparation and meetings are a bit more delicate than any other weekend, trying to get it everything right.”

He added: “After Budapest, we understood some of the directions that we took in the past, and why it was not correlated properly on track, and that package was a good sign on what we wanted to achieve, and this is just a continuation of that.

“So I think we are reasonably optimistic that correlation will be good, and tomorrow we will see what we want to see.

“But in terms of performance, as I said, when you are at this part of the championship, all the gains are very marginal. All the other teams, they are bringing as well.

“So even if you bring one tenth, half a tenth, the other ones, they are bringing half a tenth, one tenth, and you keep in the same position. So I think it’s going to be the case of this weekend.”

He agreed that there is an opportunity for Aston to benefit by getting it right in FP1 while other teams struggle.

“For sure, I think more than the specifics of the upgrades, I think it’s going to be more important to get it right straight away. Because if you bring a performance package of one-tenth and you get it wrong, maybe you lose two compared the previous race.

“And if you bring half a tenth and you exploit everything of that half a tenth, maybe it becomes one-tenth when you put it on track.

“So the difference can be quite big if you get it right or wrong. And we have only one session. So it’s one of those FP1s that you want everything clean.

“Last year, remember, we went out of Q1 because we had a very messy FP1, brake problems. We had fire on the brakes. Lance did I think one installation lap in the whole FP1, I did eight laps, and that compromised the whole weekend. So this is a big focus into this year’s free practice.”

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October 17, 2024 · 6:45 pm

Bottas still awaiting call on Audi/Sauber future as “odd situation” continues

Bottas remains optimistic about staying with Sauber

Valtteri Bottas is still waiting a call on his future in the Sauber/Audi Formula 1 team camp, but the Finn remains positive in the face of what he calls an “odd situation.”

Bottas was hoping that a decision on who partners Nico Hulkenberg from 2025 would be taken before this weekend’s US GP.

However team boss Mattia Binotto is still weighing up the pros and cons of either keeping Bottas or taking a young driver, with Gabriel Bortoleto the favourite should the call favour youth.

“I think I mentioned that I was hoping before Austin to be sorted, but I’m still waiting for the final decisions,” said Bottas. “And I think that question is more for Mattia to answer, rather than me. I’ve got the message that there’s nothing I can do at the moment.

“It’s not in my hands. So of course, I’m trying to perform the best I can this week, and hope that will boost things up. But that’s what we are.”

He added: “The situation I’m in now, with only one seat available, of course, that there is a risk. I love F1, and I want to race in F1. So naturally, it’s a bit of an odd situation, but that’s where we are.

“And, yeah, I’ve had lots of time to think about different things, but still, I’m always positive. I will stay positive. And because I really, I feel and believe that I should be in that seat, I feel like I would be best for the interest of the team.

“So that’s why I’m staying positive. And like I said, not much more I can do now, other than performing on the track, and working hard with the team.”

Bottas is hoping that a decision doesn’t take too long.

“Well, one month ago, it was as soon as possible!,” he said. “Of course from my side, eventually there will be a deadline as well, because even then, looking outside of F1, or other roles in F1, soon it’s Christmas, and then when it comes to Christmas, there’s not much availability anywhere. So, yeah, hopefully, soon.

“I am positive. I have been all the time, but until pen hits the paper, you can’t get too confident. But honestly, I’m still positive. So yeah, just a shame that it’s a bit of the wait.

“They obviously have options, but in the end, it’s going to come down to experience versus youth. So they have all the time in the world unless at some point I need to set a hard deadline.”

Bottas insisted that a deal had been agreed in principle should he be chosen, and that there is no longer a discussion about money or contract terms.

“We’ve been in in touch on a weekly basis. And I know the terms that I’m up for, and just basically waiting for the green light.

“I think the terms we’re talking about, they are like they should be, and I think Audi should have the budget. At least that’s the word out there!”

Meanwhile having had the slowest car in the field in recent weeks Sauber has some updates for Austin.

“Actually, a few things,” said Bottas. “We’ve got a new rear suspension, new front wing, I think front suspension fairings. So it’s going to be a busy practice session before the sprint quali, and we’re hoping for an improvement.”

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October 10, 2024 · 6:12 pm

Komatsu: Haas F1 team must “get on top” of latest updates in Austin

Komatsu hopes that Haas will quickly optimise its update package for Austin

Haas Formula 1 boss Ayao Komatsu stresses that it’s important for the team to make progress with its latest update package from early in the US GP weekend.

All teams are expected to bring upgrades of varying degrees to Austin, and they face the challenge of having only FP1 in which to test them before heading straight into qualifying for the sprint event.

However under the 2024 regs after the sprint and before qualifying for the main race teams have a chance to change set-up and potentially swap between new and old parts.

Komatsu admits that if the updates don’t work as planned straight away the option is there to take them off.

“In Austin we’ve got stuff coming,” he told this writer.  “So we’re focused on just making sure we get on top of that quickly.

“And then if it doesn’t work, we’ve got to be honest with ourselves and roll it back. I hope it works. I think it will work, but there’s no guarantee.

“I’m concentrating on our team, I cannot control if say Alpine is going to be suddenly competitive at one race. Like in Barcelona, we were good, but annoyingly, Alpine was even better than us. You can’t control that.”

Komatsu conceded that the team has the option to run different specs on each car in an attempt to find the optimum.

“We need to finalise the discussion,” he said. “Yes, we can, but whether we want to do that or not is another matter. If we split the cars for a sprint weekend, we get amazing data from the sprint race. So then we can make actually a very good judgment for the main race.”

Komatsu cited the points situation as a good reason to use the sprint as a test session for the Grand Prix, where potentially more is on offer to those outside the top four teams: “We’ve got to assume we cannot score points in the sprint, and in the main race,  you’ve got to assume it’s only one or two points available.

“So I said to my guys three races ago it’s eight races to go, and we’ve got to be scoring one point every race. It’s good that we are there or thereabouts.”

Komatsu is confident that the team has demonstrated that it can improve the VF-24 over a weekend, citing the recent races in Azerbaijan and Singapore as examples of how that was achieved after a difficult start on Friday.

“This FP1, FP2, FP3 thing, it’s always up and down,” he said. “So it’s really trying to focus on chipping away on our side, which I think we’ve done very well in Baku, and I think we’ve done very well in Singapore as well.

“Both races neither driver was happy with the car in FP1, which has got something to say about our lack of ability to put the car competitively straight away. But the reaction from that at both events, I’m really proud of our guys.

“We weren’t very happy, but then FP1 to FP2 we made a very good step considering, because sometimes if you have a knee-jerk reaction, you can be out of sync with track evolution.

“Baku and Singapore, with street circuit evolution always high, and on top of that track temperature difference, five, six degrees, that makes a difference as well.

“So you’ve got to stay calm, and take a mature approach to chip away, so that you are still in sync with track evolution. You can get it wrong so easily. But I’m very happy that we managed to do that correctly.”

Regarding Nico Hulkenberg’s P6 in Singapore qualifying he added: “We improved the car from FP1, and then the drivers, they were better as well, because they didn’t panic from FP1 either. And then in terms of operation, Q1, Q2, Q3, from our plan with track evolution etcetera, it was perfect, and we executed exactly how we needed to execute.

“So after that qualifying session, I was so happy. It was not just the position, P6, it just proved to us that we can put that together – this is what we can achieve.”

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