Verstappen doesn't believe in 'Italian curse': 'I have a good feeling'

Max Verstappen doesn't have the best memories of racing in Italy, but that doesn't matter much to the Dutchman. He's looking forward to the race in Imola and sees no reason why his team can't be competitive this weekend too.

Bad luck in Italy

In 2020, Verstappen had a lot of bad luck during the races in Italy. In Monzo, Mugello and Imola, Verstappen did not reach the finish, because he crashed out or had other problems. None of the times it was his fault. Verstappen speaks of coincidence, however, when it comes to the 'Italian curse'.

''I've had a lot of bad luck in Italy, but it's a nice country for a holiday and the food is good. I'm not worried about it. That it went wrong so often here is a coincidence. It could have been different. Monza has never really been our circuit, but we were fast at Mugello and here we were doing well last year until the Pirelli broke down," said Verstappen according to the NOS.

Duels with Hamilton

An important measure of Verstappen's hopes comes from the RB16B. The Dutchman's car was very fast in Bahrain, and Verstappen assumes the same will be true in Imola. ''The car feels top. I have a good feeling about the car and I don't see any reason why we can't perform well.''

It will not be easy for Verstappen. In Imola, he will again have to deal with Lewis Hamilton, who stole victory from him in Bahrain. ''Duels with Lewis are fun. Fair, hard fights. It almost always ends well. We also get on well with each other'', Verstappen concludes.