Verstappen on softs longer than Perez on mediums: "Just insight".

Max Verstappen was sometimes up to two seconds faster than the rest of the field in the Belgian Grand Prix. After the safety car, the 24-year old Dutchman passed his competitors as if they were standing still. It did not result in Verstappen having to come in earlier because he was asking (too) much of his tyres, on the contrary. The reigning world champion got everything out of his rubber, but also managed them well.

In the press conference, Sergio Perez is known as a driver who can manage his tyres well. Yet Verstappen managed to go much longer in the first stint on softs than his teammate on mediums. Normally that is almost impossible, as the red-edge rubber is a lot softer and therefore wears out much faster.

"It’s not only today, I think I'm always good on tyres," Verstappen responded. "Maybe people don't look at it. But yeah, just understanding, experience, trying to set up the car in the best way possible. And sometimes the car reacts better to it and sometimes not. I think when you look at, for example, Austria, we weren't that great, but I think we learned from that. And we tried to apply that. Yeah, if the car sometimes is that good, everything becomes easier," he said.

Verstappen in 2021 and 2022

Verstappen looks set to be even better in 2022 than he was last year in the battle with Lewis Hamilton for the world championship. The Red Bull Racing driver finds it difficult to draw a comparison. "I think every year you gain experience – but I think you cannot compare years. The cars are completely different, to drive, to race. So yeah, I do think also at this stage of the year, we are a lot more competitive than we were last year. So then naturally, I think that helps a lot in terms of getting the race wins."