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Victory didn't come naturally for Verstappen: 'Lando was nice to me'

17:53, 09 Jul 2023

byKada Sarkozi

Max Verstappen won the British Grand Prix in convincing fashion, but it was not easy for the championship leader. Throughout the race, Lando Norris remained visible in his mirrors and so the Red Bull Racing driver certainly could not rest on his laurels.

"We had a terrible start so we need to look into that why it was," Verstappen said after the race. "Even after that, especially Lando, well both McLarens, were super quick. It took a few laps to pass him but then I could ease out a gap."

No easy win for Verstappen

"After the Safety Car, on the softest compound round here it was a little bit more tricky for us to keep them alive. Very happy we won again and 11 wins in a row for the team is pretty incredible. But it wasn't straight forward today," Verstappen continued.

His poor start meant he had to contend with Norris, with whom he is good friends off track, in the first few laps. "The [bad start] made it a bit more exciting having to push for it. Lando was very nice to me but he came back at me with the DRS. He did very well today," said the championship leader.

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6 Comments

JohnAndrews 09 July 2023 at 21:16+ 11080

Big respect for Albon. What a performance. Norris was also great. Nice developments!

maverick75 09 July 2023 at 17:56+ 18744

If Max does have a weakness, it's his race starts. He's been improving and is much better than a few seasons ago, but that still remains his Achilles heel. Not that it makes much difference in the race!

Nice to see the camaraderie between Lando and Max, even the chats between Lewis and Max. Good spirits.

Bret 09 July 2023 at 18:04+ 43891

I mentioned that in the beginning of the season, at the Australian GP. The RB is very easy on the tyres which helps its main race but the restarts are its weakness.

Mike tt 09 July 2023 at 18:05+ 13418

Might have something to do with the tires. RB is best with tire deg, but that means they are more difficult to warm up for the start. McLaren is the opposite, probably the quickest to fire up the tires, but also high tire deg.

Zvezdan Jasovic 09 July 2023 at 18:21+ 7811

True but I think it’s more because of the car.
Max’s starts in 2021 were superb, also the reaction time today was quite similar to Norris’s but Max had lots of wheel spin.
I’m sure he and the team are going to take care of that weakness

Mike tt 09 July 2023 at 18:26+ 13418

Max has also complained about his clutch going back a long time now. That might have something to do with it too.