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Verstappen Expresses Doubts Ahead of Jeddah Race

Max Verstappen has conveyed uncertainty about his ability to outperform McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during the upcoming race in Jeddah. The reigning F1 champion secured pole position with a narrow margin of just 0.010 seconds, after McLaren cars demonstrated superior speed throughout the weekend. Piastri will start alongside him on the front row, while his teammate, Lando Norris, will begin the race from 10th place following a crash in the first lap of Q3.

After a disappointing performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull has made significant adjustments to the RB21, providing a more competitive setup for the high-speed demands of the Saudi circuit. The recently improved conditions of the track have also contributed to a more favorable outlook for Red Bull’s performance.

Despite this progress, McLaren still appears to have the upper hand when it comes to long-run pace, particularly with better tire management. This discrepancy has led Verstappen to downplay his chances of converting pole position into what would be his 65th career victory.

“To be honest, I’m not very confident at this point,” Verstappen admitted. “My long runs haven’t looked as promising compared to Oscar or Lando. I will give it my all, but it’s hard to say if that will be enough.”

“The car has improved since our testing on Friday, so I’m hopeful that will help with tire degradation as well,” he added.

Verstappen’s primary concern seems to be how effectively Red Bull can manage the medium compound tires. He has yet to test the hard compound, which Pirelli has indicated may be the most effective choice for the race.

“I’m skeptical that we’ll be very competitive on the medium tire,” he said. “I haven’t used the hard yet, so I can’t comment on that. It’s clear that as the temperature rises, like during FP3, we really struggle. It seems that most teams find it challenging in warmer conditions during the race.”

Piastri, on the other hand, is feeling optimistic about his chances to secure a third race win this season. He believes that overtaking will be less challenging than it was during the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, where both McLarens found themselves trapped behind Verstappen for the entirety of the race, despite their pace advantage.

“I think we have strong performance here. Red Bull and Max seem to be more competitive than they were last week,” Piastri noted. “Suzuka’s layout is quite different from Jeddah, which features many high-speed corners. It’s logical to see them performing better here, but I hope that translates into race success for us.”

“I’m feeling confident given what we have to work with. The numerous DRS zones here could facilitate overtaking much better than Suzuka,” he concluded, looking ahead to the race.

Source
www.autosport.com