F1 team Red Bull's driver- Max Verstappen had been a storm during Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Imola and the whole team including Verstappen was looking forward to finish the race in P2, However, a tyre issue resulted in retirement with just 12 las to go.
It was a brilliant start from Verstappen as everyone witnessed him pacing well. Verstappen was one step ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to take P2 behind race leader Valtteri Bottas. However, both he and Bottas would ultimately be passed in the pits by Hamilton. Hamilton had benefitted from a perfectly-timed Virtual Safety Car that allowed him to claim the net lead of the race
Unfortunately, Verstappen lost the fight for P2 when his right-rear tyre appeared to fail on the run to Villeneuve. Red Bull boss Christian Horner stated that debris might have been to blame - spinning Verstappen out of the race with only 12 laps to go.
“It could have been a very nice P2,” said a philosophical Verstappen after the Grand Prix. “The start was good, I got Lewis and was trying to stay with Valtteri. We both pitted, and I tried to do the undercut. [Bottas], I think, had damage on the floor, so we were losing a lot of lap time [behind him] and I couldn’t get close – this track is so hard to pass on!
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“Then of course Lewis jumped us, but once I got past Valtteri, the pace was good, the car was feeling good and suddenly on the straight, I lost the car because there was a tyre blow-out. I don’t exactly know what happened, but when I quickly looked at the car, there was nothing broken on the car, so it’s a big shame."
Verstappen wanted to remain positive even after the incident in Imola. The Red Bull driver has proven his ability to fight with the Mercedes on race day, with his RB16 – which was majorly updated two races ago at the Nurburgring – appearing to have taken a step closer to the Mercedes.
“It was a very nice race from our side,” he said. “It was a lot more fun as well. I was really pushing and trying to stay with [the Mercedes] and it was a lot of fun out there. So it was a shame, of course, to not be on that podium – but not only not be on that podium but also be second. So a big shame… It would have been a great race, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
