by VALERIO BARRETTA
Verstappen, China is missing from the palmares
Going to browse Max's bulletin board Verstappen you can see trophies from all over the world. In virtually every circuit it has raced at, Super Max has won the first place trophy.
However, China represents an exception for the Dutchman, who has never won in Shanghai in five starts. And, it must be underlined, there are not many circuits where the #1 has never finished first: in addition to Shanghai, there is only Singapore among the most “stable” ones in Formula 1 (the others are Sochi – whose return to the calendar is naturally linked to the developments of the war in Ukraine – and tracks where Verstappen only raced in the Covid period such as Istanbul, Mugello, Nürburgring and Portimão).
In the Eastern Giant, which will host an F1 race for the first time after the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, Super Max achieved a maximum of third place in 2017behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
The start of 2017
The podium that year also came thanks to a killer start: Verstappen, in mixed conditions, went from 16th to seventh place with a series of textbook overtaking moves.
“The start was good, even if I was a bit stuck. In turn-1 you could hardly see anything, there were a lot of splashes of water. Then in the following corners I tried to stay away from trouble and dirty air, trying when possible to look for dry conditions to improve grip.“, commented the world champion on the Red Bull channels. “In these situations you always try to stay on a different side to what others choose when braking, sometimes looking for free space is the best strategy“.
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