Formula 1 in Imola: Headache for the competition: Verstappen feels World Cup boost

Max Verstappen gladly accepted the slight back pain. In his brilliant victory, the Formula 1 world champion on the bumpy slope from Imola was shaken, but the Red Bull Superpilot missed heavy headache of the competition. “There are such hard days in the championship, and that is clearly one of them,” known World Cup leader Oscar Piatri, who looked unusually thoughtful after the demonstration by Verstappen.

The self-confidence of the young Australian in the supposedly superior McLaren got an unexpected damper in the supposedly superior McLaren. Povers from Verstappen in the first curve and slowed down by strategy cliffs of his team, Piatri had to recognize as a clearly distant third party that the journey to the title does not become a sure -fire success. “I’ll learn from it for the next time,” said the 24-year-old.

Red Bull make new components faster

Teacher Verstappen also gives the recovered well -being factor in his company car fresh. “The car felt better, more controlled over the distance,” said the Dutch. Verstappen had previously complained about the weaknesses of the Red Bull and the lack of progress. “It was the first time with this car that he said, I’m happy,” revealed team consultant Helmut Marko at Sky.

This is a dangerous sign for the World Cup rivals. In a title-capable car, a verbal is difficult to stop on the way to a fifth World Cup triumph in a row. “We knew that what has come in technology had to sit. And thank God that finally brought progress that we needed after a year,” said Marko about the thrust of the new components on the Red Bull.

The third-placed Verstappen with his second success of the season reduced the gap to the World Cup leading Piatri to 22 points. The “Corriere della Sera” immediately raved about the “Verstappen-Magie”. Incidentally, the 27-year-old also cleaned up with the legend that Formula 1 drivers would lose speed as fathers. A good two weeks after the birth of his daughter Lily, Verstappen provided the counter -evidence.

Risk excursion of the world champion

A few days before, he even raced under the pseudonym “Franz Hermann” during a sports car test on the north loop of the Nürburgring. Red Bull puts an eye on such risk excursions by the four-time world champion to keep the exceptional driver happy.

His special class will need Verstappen again in a few days when it goes into the Monte-Carlo houses. “I don’t expect it to make it easier,” said the defending champion. The reason: his Red Bull has currently grown primarily on fast distances with rapid curves. Monaco is the complete opposite.

“We have suffered in the fast curves all the season, we have to work on that,” said McLaren-Pilot Lando Norris, currently second in the World Cup, but in Imola as without a chance against Verstappen as teammate Piatri. With all the confidence for the classic in Monaco, McLaren-Boss Zak Brown also warns of the wake-up call in Italy: “There is still a long season and that only shows that nothing has yet been decided here.”