The day after each Grand Prix, driver Jeroen Bleekemolen shares his findings about the past race weekend in a column for Formule1.nl. Who or what stood out to him, what went right or wrong and what needs to be done differently? This time: Max’s masterclass and frustration among competitors.
‘How many times have we said it already? Max Verstappen is of exceptional quality, he is extraordinary, he is unique. That is not the case because he proves it once, no, he proves it so often. And the race in Miami was another example of that. The way he rides, the way he wins; that’s very nice.
Start from ninth place, have the same car as your teammate who starts first and then win like that? There is only one word for that: sublime.
And yes, we’ve seen it before: Spa last year, the catch-up race also at the Hungaroring… This victory in Miami belongs in that list anyway.
The fact that Max drives all the way to the front and wins more than once, that doesn’t make it normal or normal. Not even if he does that again, like in Miami. No, that just makes it prettier. He’s just so good.
It’s frustrating, even for him. He won’t do stupid things though.
– Jeroen Bleekemolen
Also look at lap times; I sit with the laptop on my lap during the race and watch them pass by. He’s so damn fast. And passionate and involved too, eh: he thinks far ahead. That Max opens up to his engineer at the Miami race about the front wing and what they can or should do, what about other people’s tyres; such things are significant.
The Verstappens, Max and also Jos, are real racers. Pure racers. They only think about how to win, how to be the fastest. That’s in it, they are real winners. So Max doesn’t say such things about the front wing, for example, just to show how much he knows about something. No, it’s purely from the thought: ‘How can we be fast, how can we win?’
It draws him. It shows his qualities as a driver. Also the force majeure with which he wins. And trust me, it’s frustrating for the others. What about Sergio Perez? All of Mexico thought maybe after Baku and after qualifying that we could get a Mexican world champion. But you see how fast and how good Max is’. Perez sees that too.
I’ve experienced it myself, a teammate who is faster and that you think: how then, where, et cetera. It’s frustrating. That’s it for him too. Although I don’t think Pérez will do stupid things on track. He is too smart for that, too experienced; he knows how it works.
Drivers are not stupid: everyone sees as a colleague how good and fast Max is. There is also admiration for that. That was already there and is still there after races like this. But also frustration. And I get that too. Because who should stop him? Or maybe: what can stop him?
If you ask me: only a few blown engines can stop Max, or other bad luck. But further? He once again showed who the best is in Miami.’
