F1 News: Max Verstappen Reveals Huge Blow After Spain - "We Had Extra Speed"
The Spanish Grand Prix witnessed an overwhelming victory by Red Bull's lead driver Max Verstappen, as he finished P1, leaving his closest competitor, Lewis Hamilton, trailing a massive 24 seconds behind. But now, the Dutch driver revealed he didn't push his car to its full potential, marking another dominant display in his impressive tally.
The post-race press conference presented an opportunity for the reporters to grill Verstappen on his extraordinary performance. One intriguing question thrown at him was whether the Red Bull car still had some additional speed in its tank. Verstappen responded with confidence.
"I think so," he acknowledged. "If it had been necessary to fight someone, then yes, we probably had the extra speed we needed."
He was further asked about how much he was pushing during his huge lead:
"It was just not necessary. In this case, everything revolved around managing the tyres to at least achieve the predetermined length of the stints."
Despite this dominating win, Verstappen confessed that he didn't savour every single moment of the race. The hard tyres, in particular, caused some concern due to their lack of grip. However, this minor setback didn't cause any time loss against the competition – a testament to the Red Bull RB19's exceptional performance.
"That was certainly not the best stint ever in my delivery, but luckily the car remains fast at such a moment, so we don't lose any time. I didn't expect it, but sometimes you get surprised this way," Verstappen said.
Despite Mercedes looking to close the gap with some success in Spain, it remains to be seen whether any constructor will be able to reach the potent Red Bulls this year. With Adrian Newey firmly in control of the ground effect era, our sights maybe look to next year for a proper fight.