Max Verstappen warns: “Silverstone will be a bigger challenge”

Max Verstappen’s home race for Red Bull Racing at Silverstone went exactly as he’d hoped. Although the Dutchman was unable to get beyond fifth place in qualifying, On race day, however, he used this position to secure his best Grand Prix result to date: he crossed the finish line just 1.611 seconds behind winner George Russell and, finishing second, picked up 18 vital World Championship points.

“That was a brilliant race for us and it felt great to finally be fighting for the win again. Second place was a decent result; we had good pace and some good battles on the track,” the 28-year-old said, looking back.

The 71-time Grand Prix winner predicts that things will be tough for the GP stars at Silverstone: “I love the circuit, which has hosted so many historic races. But I think driving there this year will be very different from before; it’ll be a bigger challenge, especially when it comes to energy management.”

“That’s down to the track layout and the super-fast corners, which could make for a difficult race,” explains the rider with 241 GP starts to his name. “It’s also set to be warmer than expected – let’s see how that affects performance. It’s certainly nice for the team to be closer to the factory, and as always, I’m expecting a packed programme because there’s always a lot going on this week,” he adds.

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