Max Verstappen expressed utmost satisfaction with his team’s performance after clinching victory in the opening race of the 2024 season with dominance. Leading Sergio Perez to secure a one-two finish for the team, the reigning world champion set the fastest lap, ensuring a maximum points haul.
“It’s unbelievable,” Verstappen remarked afterward. “I think today went even better than expected. The car was really nice to drive on every compound. I think we had a lot of pace, and it was just super enjoyable to drive today. We really stayed out of trouble and a great start to the year. I mean, it couldn’t have been better.”
Despite his remarkable success last year, winning 19 out of 22 grand prix, Verstappen emphasized the exceptional feeling of this victory due to the outstanding performance of the car.
“It was a lot of fun. I felt really good in the car. It’s always very special to have these kinds of days because they don’t happen that often, that it just all goes perfectly and you’re just one with the car and everything just feels great.”
While Charles Leclerc briefly posed a challenge to Verstappen at the start, the Red Bull driver swiftly maintained his lead. “From there onwards, we just focused on our own race,” he noted.
Perez, starting fifth, finished 22 seconds behind his teammate in second place, which he believes was “the maximum we could have achieved.”
“It was quite a tricky race with the management of the tyres,” Perez explained. “I think there’s plenty we will learn from tonight’s race, which will be important for the championship. But overall it’s a great way to start the season.”
He found the performance of the RB20 more variable between different tyres than his teammate. “It was really compound to compound amount of sliding we were having,” he said. “We had some issues with the engine braking, the reliability, which is not easy around here because there is plenty of low-speed. But I’m sure we’ll analyze all of that tonight and make sure we learn for Jeddah.”
