Jos on Max' dominant victory: 'That's how I like them'
Published on 14 December 2020 by Mike Motilall
Max Verstappen finished the 2020 Formula 1-season in style when he dominantly took home the win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His father Jos was present at Peptalk where they reviewed the race and look forward to the coming season. The show is aired every Monday evening at 19.50 hrs. on Ziggo Sport.
To get things going, qualifying is first discussed, where Max by the skin of his teeth took his first and only pole this season. Jos: “Qualifying was madly exciting. It’s his first pole of the year and you are able to see that they have gotten closer to Mercedes. Especially on that track, because Mercedes has always been super strong in Abu Dhabi.”
“After that you hope he has a good start in the race because that is not a strong point of the Red Bull. I always check if he has any wheel spin and that he gets well off the line. The moment he got off the line was reasonably well and then you hope that nothing happens. When you are in the lead, you can control the race. Of course you need a good car and that is something he clearly shows. You can also then manage the tyre degradation and Max definitely knows how to do that. Towards the end of the race he started talking about his tyres and I immediately get Imola flashbacks, it still remains unnerving.”
The Safety Car did cause some tense moments for Jos: “On one side, there are always possibility for the competition. But on the other they were not able to do an undercut. Mercedes’ second driver was not able to come in earlier, forcing Max to come in as well. This was all possible because of the Safety Car, so that was a small advantage. But knowing Max, he won’t let you get the better of him.”
Towards the end of the race, Max told his team on the radio: “You can turn down the engine if you want to”. Jos explains how to see Max’ message on the radio: “You are allowed to, just once, turn the engine down, and that’s it. I think that it was a bit of bluffing and with that he wants to illustrate how reasonably easy the race was for him. It wasn’t the most exciting race, but that’s how I like them. As long as Max wins.”
Apart from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max also won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone. On the question which one of the two victories he preferred, Jos says: “Yesterday’s one was nicer because qualifying went well also. At Silverstone the tyres were acting up and Max was able to cope with them.”
Jos sees that Max, in his sixth year in Formula 1 already, has grown. Despite not being able to fight for the world title: “This has primarily to do with experience, as Jos explains. “He is learning more and more and knows what he wants much faster. But it’s also the way of driving. It wasn’t an easy car but Max knows how to handle that very well. Max extracts the most out of the car, he cannot do much more than that. Of course we all want Max to be able to fight for the world title, and the goal is to try and make that happen so let’s hope Red Bull is able to do that next year.”
Jos ultimately hopes that the race in Abu Dhabi is a prelude to what’s coming next season: “This is of course very nice, also for the mood of the people in the factory. It gives them an extra boost. But let’s be honest here, the start of the next season is more important than the end of this one. If we are able to start next year like this, then we have a shot at the championship, I am sure of that. It’s up to Red Bull to show that they are capable.”
