Max Verstappen believes Red Bull Racing have had a positive start to the Belgian Grand Prix after finishing the second practice session on top of the time sheets.
The Dutch finished the morning in seventh behind team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, with a fastest time of 1:49.782. In the afternoon Verstappen improved his pace massively by finishing top of the time sheets with a fastest time of 1:48.085, 0.256 seconds ahead of Ricciardo.
With a one-two achieved by Red Bull, for only the second time in the last seventeen practice sessions a Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver was not out in front. The Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the closest thing to a home race for Verstappen, with so many Dutch fans in the crowd, they give him a boost which motivates him.
“It has been a very positive Friday for us,” said Verstappen. “We showed great pace today in comparison with other teams, though it’s hard to say what Mercedes is like.
“Of course I’m happy to be first in front of so many Dutch fans but it’s still not qualifying and not the race so let’s see. When I went up to first position in the second practice the fans were all cheering me on with their flags. It definitely gives me a boost and motivates me a lot.
“This track is very difficult for setting up the car balance so I also had some struggles but at the end it paid off with the last set up change we did. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I’m sure we can improve even more, but we have to wait and see what the others are doing. So far we had a very good start to the weekend.”
