First, he had a stomach bug that delayed his arrival at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Then a mechanical failure in qualifying dropped Max Verstappen deep on the starting grid. (More Motorsport News)
So recovering for a second-pl♓♕ace finish should have been a reason to celebrate, right?
Not for tꦏhe two-time reigning Formula 📖One world champion.
Verstappen barely even praised Red Bull's second straight 1-2 finish after he rallied from 15th to finish behind teammate Sergio Perez at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday. Verstappen won the season-o𝕴pener in Bahrain, with Perez second.
Not even ear𒁏ning a bonus point for logging the fastest lap of the race — a point that kept Verstappen at❀op the F1 standings — could ease his frustration.
“The whole feeling in the team, everyone is happy. But personally, I'm not happy,” Verstappen said after the race. “Because I'm not here to be second, especially when꧟ you are working very hard back at the factory to make sure that you arrive here in a good state, and basically making sure that everything is spo𒁃t on.”
The 25-year-old Dutchman had to delay his trip to Jeddah by a day because of a stomach bug. Then, a driveshaft issue hindered him in Saturday's qualifying and prevented hi🧔m from challenging for the pole.
Startinꩲg 15th would have meant simply trying to squeeze out a solid finish for most drivers. But not Verstappen, who charged through the field as i😼f his rivals were parked.
Even so, a distracted-sounding Verstappen complained about feeling weird sensati𒀰ons from the driveshaft late in the r🧸ace.
All those factors ranked higher to him tꦚhan how he clawed his way back to a near-victory. He didn't even seem to care that his fastest lap nudged him one point ahead of Perez in the championship lead in what looks increasingly likely to be a straight Red Bull shootout for the title.
"If🃏 that's the case, it's fairly simple, right?” said Verstappen. “We are allowed to race, so the best one will finish in front.”
Verstappen is a perfectionist on the track and so he struggles handling imperfections. He has the fastest car on the💝 grid but it grates him — and perhaps overly so — when there are glitches beyond his control.
It got to him last year when reliability issues forced him to reti✤re ꦕfrom two of the first three races, and several times in previous seasons he'd also struggled to contain his temper when mechanical or engine problems affected his races.
His frustration in Je🐠ddah was compounded by th🍒e fact he led all three practice sessions leading up to qualifying.
“I🌼t's not only about the pace of the car, we need to make sure we are reliable without any issues. After three positive p🧸ractice sessions, I have an issue in qualifying," Verstappen said. “Of course, I recovered to second, which is good.”
Yet the manner of how he finished second bugged the dr🦩iver who won a record 15 F1 races last year.
“You have to do a recovery race, which I like — I mean, I don't mind doing it,” he said. "But when you're fighting for a championship, and especially when෴ it looks like it's just between two cars, we have to make sure that also the two cars are reliable.”
Next up is t🌟he Australian Grand Prix on April 2 — a race where Verstappen's never won and retired twice.
“We have to do better,” Verstappen said. “Just have a cleaner weekend. I think that would be nice ꦅas well.”
