The damage to Verstappen’s floor has cost Red Bull 100 aerodynamic points

Max Verstappen was a victim of a off-track excursion during Q1 of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix qualifying, facing changing weather conditions, in true English fashion. This high-speed pass through the gravel trap where his teammate had been stuck just minutes earlier caused significant damage to the Red Bull.

The spin in Q1 was really unlucky,” he said. As he entered turn 7 towards Copse, the rain started to fall, creating an unexpected wet zone on the track. “I was exiting turn 7 towards Copse and it started raining. So, I knew that the people in front of me did not have this rain zone and, of course, they were on slicks.”

Aware of the importance of completing a quick lap on slick tires before the rain intensified, Verstappen tried to maintain his speed despite the conditions. « I knew that in Q1, we needed that lap on slicks because you never know if the rain will intensify and end the session. Naturally, I tried to maintain the speed. I slowed down when I saw the rain on my visor, but it still forced me out and I had to try to avoid the wall by going off the racing line. »

Unfortunately for the reigning world champion, this outing caused significant damage to the floor of his car, up to 1 second per lap before the mechanics’ repairs.

« Initially, it was 100 [points], which is a lot. We managed to recover some, but it was a lot. » he details. « I had to take the gravel trap, which damaged the floor. There were quite a few pieces missing from the car even though the team did a good job trying to recover some parts and optimize the front-back balance, which practically ruined our qualifying session. »

Despite these conditions, Verstappen managed to qualify for Q3, which he considered a positive surprise. I was happy to be in Q3 with the damages we had, and to be in P4 is probably a positive surprise.

The repair of the floor was a challenge for the Red Bull team, complicating the aerodynamic balance of the RB20. It wasn’t so bad. I had a little moment at turn 4, but honestly, they kept repairing the floor, so the balance was changing every lap. Verstappen had to adjust his settings every lap to try to find an optimal compromise. I was changing settings on my steering wheel every lap to try to find a better compromise. So probably, at times, we pushed too far to compensate, but it was still a good lap.

« I tried to push to the limit, to really use the track where I could because naturally in the fast corners, the aerodynamic load was not there, and I was going slower in some corners compared to the practices. But yes, it was the best we could do with these damages, I think. »

The Red Bull driver will start from the 5th position this Sunday for the race.