A certain victory and a 14-point lead in the World Cup standings. Max Verstappen saw him go up in smoke in Baku 3 laps before the finish. The Dutchman pointed the finger at tire company Pirelli. “But they will say again that it was because of the carbon particles on the track.”
Verstappen is still happy that Hamilton made a blunder early in the second half in Baku, thus also ending without World Cup points. But she couldn’t really cheer up the Dutchman.
“Of course I am disappointed,” he told Ziggo Sport. “It was an easy race and I checked without any problems. You don’t want to overload your tires and I’ve paid attention to that.”
“The tires felt really good. I didn’t feel any vibration or anything, so it’s really weird for this to happen. Sometimes it’s really annoying when something like this finally happens.”
Of course I’m angry. I checked without any problems.
The tire supplier, Pirelli, was the dog that got bitten by Verstappen. The Italian tire brand raised the minimum rear tire pressure from 19 psi to 20 psi after Friday’s practice sessions, an added challenge for teams to balance in their car.
The fact that two of the left rear tires just appeared on a straight stretch – in Lance Stroll and Verstappen – is surprising. “Pirelli will say again that it was because of the carbon particles in the circuit. You can’t argue with that.”
“But the fact is that another tire has blown off, not only with me, but with Stroll. There will be some serious discussion about it and that is of course not fun for Pirelli.”
Father Jose Verstappen thinks the same thing:
Verstappen: “The gap could have been much bigger”
Red Bull were on their way to their first two goals since Malaysia 2016. But the tricky stats remained due to bad luck: Verstappen was not on the podium in Baku.
“This is very frustrating. In the end, with a bit of luck we are still number one in the championship, but the gap could have been a lot bigger. I wanted to make a hole here because they will be in ‘normal rinks’ (read: there will be no circuits). Streets) stronger.
Winner Sergio Perez awarded teammate Verstappen the win. “I feel sorry for Max,” said the Mexican. “He drove a great GP and deserved to win.”
Hamilton: ‘One small mistake’
Lewis Hamilton was also disappointed. Trying to get 25 points and win, he ended up empty-handed after a restart error. “This experience forces us to be humble,” he wrote on Twitter.
“We worked hard after a difficult week in Baku. We gave everything and because of a small mistake the brakes faded. Sorry for the team, we will be back stronger next race.”
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