Max Verstappen’s at Paul Ricard could, in all probability, be the most important victory of the 2022 season. championship.
Max showed great maturity in the race. In the early stages, when he was under the second behind the Monegasque Ferrari, he put pressure on Leclerc without ever forcing the attack and when the Scuderia rider made a mistake on lap 18 going to the wall he took care to manage the tires to get hit number 6 of the season.
With this victory Verstappen further increased his lead in the standings. Max now has 233 points, while Leclerc, thanks to today’s zero, remained stationary at 177.
“We had a good pace from the start and I tried to put pressure on Charles,” said the Dutchman from Red Bull when asked to analyze the French GP.
Max then explained the strategy adopted in the race. The world champion focused on tire management and trying to stay calm when his car was significantly faster than the Monegasque’s F1-75.
“Following another car with these temperatures, with the tires overheating a lot, is not the best. I tried on one occasion to overtake him in turn 11 but it was difficult. I tried to keep calm and stay close to him. We brought the break a little earlier, but you never know how the race will develop ”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Verstappen then candidly admitted that after the Leclerc accident everything became easier and the priority objective was to extend the life of the tires to avoid having to face a second pit.
“Our car was fast today. Charles was unlucky and I hope he is well, but from that moment on I have only done my race managing the tires. With such a long pit lane it was impossible to make two stops and the tires were wearing a lot. The covers had to be kept under control until the end “.
The one seen today at Paul Ricard was a Verstappen considerably distant from the aggressive and very fast driver admired in recent years. A change of mentality resulting from experience.
“I’m just trying to bring home the best possible points haul. Sometimes you have to understand that you can’t attack to the max, but you have to wait until the end of the race and that’s what I did. There are still a lot of appointments and we need to get the maximum amount of points. From this point of view it was a great day ”.
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