Verstappen Triumphs at Imola Despite Bumpy Ride Leaving Him “Broken” and in Pain

Max Verstappen Struggles with Back Pain After Rough Ride on Imola's F1 Circuit

"My back, everything is in pain…"

Max Verstappen expressed that the uneven track at Imola made him feel "shattered" after securing a win at the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The driver from Red Bull managed to fend off a strong push from Lando Norris of McLaren, making a victorious comeback at Imola after being previously bested by Norris in Miami.

Verstappen faced challenges with his hard tyres during the last part of the race and had to fend off a strong challenge from Norris, who ended up finishing just under a second behind the defending world champion at the finish line.

Verstappen mentioned that the most significant challenge he encountered came from the circuit, despite the fierce contest with Norris.

"Truthfully, I'm feeling pretty battered from all the jolts," Verstappen admitted.

"I'm in pain all over. The discomfort isn't really due to the physical aspect, but rather because it was extremely rough out there."

"Barely 20 laps in, my back was already giving me trouble. Right now, I'm just eager to get into bed. Perhaps pop a few pain relievers. And possibly get a massage, who knows…"

In response to whether he faced any particular issues during the final stretch, Verstappen stated, "I simply struggled to make the tyres function effectively."

"The sensation was as though they hadn't found the correct temperature range to operate in. This issue only intensified over time. Consequently, the final 15 laps felt akin to maneuvering on ice for me."

"They had stopped responding. This is an aspect we need to examine."

Verstappen also needed to be careful not to make any errors after receiving a black and white flag caution for exceeding track boundaries.

Venturing outside the boundaries just once more could have led to a time sanction, potentially stripping the win from the Dutch driver.

"He mentioned that Red Bull informed him about the track boundaries, advising him to exercise more caution moving forward."

"However, the issue seemed to originate, at least partially, from my initial struggle with understeering significantly when on the Medium tyres, which occasionally led me astray if I failed to hit the apex correctly. Consequently, when switching to the Hard tyres, I started allowing a little more room for error.

"Obviously, during the final laps when Lando was gaining on me, it became somewhat more challenging since I had to make full use of the track to maintain my position."

"Though we kept to our designated path, it indeed demanded heightened attention. At each departure point, being certain of our actions was essential."

Discover More

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Site Navigation

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Reproducing the content, whether it be text, photos, or illustrations, in whole or in part, is strictly forbidden in any