Red Bull pulled off another 1-2 result in Formula 1, this time at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, where Max Verstappen managed to build up a 21-point lead in the 2022 Driver Standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Things would have been different though, had Ferrari not lost both cars to mechanical issues – first Sainz, then Leclerc, who at the time was leading the race and could have conceivably won if he would have staved off Verstappen’s late charge – a battle we unfortunately didn’t get to see.
While discussing Leclerc’s bad luck, Verstappen gave a typically forthright soliloquy about how things tend to even out in Formula 1.
“Of course, we had our misfortune at the beginning of the year, so we knew we had to play a bit of catch-up, but it seems like now it’s more or less evened out with the bad luck, and yes, you know you have to score points every single weekend if you want to really fight for the championship. Everyone knows that, everyone tries that, but it’s not always that easy.”
When asked whether he had any sympathy for Leclerc, who actually suffered not one but two DNFs in the last three races, Verstappen simply stated: “I would always say, s*** happens. That’s racing, you know? It happened to me, it happened to many people in the past, unfortunately it’s happening to Charles.”
“Yes, if I would be in the same situation, I would also be disappointed, I think that’s very normal, but it’s about how you come out of it,” added the Dutchman. “You learn from it, you don’t like it, you’re angry, but we turned it around. You always have to stay on it because something else might happen and you always have to prevent these issues from happening.”
Up next on the calendar is the Canadian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on June 19.
While discussing Leclerc’s bad luck, Verstappen gave a typically forthright soliloquy about how things tend to even out in Formula 1.
“Of course, we had our misfortune at the beginning of the year, so we knew we had to play a bit of catch-up, but it seems like now it’s more or less evened out with the bad luck, and yes, you know you have to score points every single weekend if you want to really fight for the championship. Everyone knows that, everyone tries that, but it’s not always that easy.”
When asked whether he had any sympathy for Leclerc, who actually suffered not one but two DNFs in the last three races, Verstappen simply stated: “I would always say, s*** happens. That’s racing, you know? It happened to me, it happened to many people in the past, unfortunately it’s happening to Charles.”
“Yes, if I would be in the same situation, I would also be disappointed, I think that’s very normal, but it’s about how you come out of it,” added the Dutchman. “You learn from it, you don’t like it, you’re angry, but we turned it around. You always have to stay on it because something else might happen and you always have to prevent these issues from happening.”
Up next on the calendar is the Canadian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on June 19.