While this year’s Formula 1 cars are a “lot of fun”, Max Verstappen is more excited at the prospect of “good racing” from 2021.
After just three days of running at last week’s first pre-season test, it is already expected that the 2020 machines will be the fastest in history, with only two teams not beating their quickest time from testing last year.
Indeed, Valtteri Bottas’ benchmark of 1m15.7s was almost half a second than Sebastian Vettel’s best across eight days of testing in 2019 and only three tenths off the Finn’s own pole position from the Spanish Grand Prix, albeit on softer tyres
“It’s a lot of fun,” Bottas said with a smile via RaceFans last Friday. “Especially today when I finally got to do at more performance running type of things. Actually pushing the car more was really enjoyable.
“It’s so impressive, every pre-season test it blows your mind how quick the cars are especially though to the high-speed corners.
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“Obviously every year you get improvement in terms of how the car drives and behaves and a similar thing with the engine.
“Things are just getting better and better and more advanced and so very much enjoying myself and the grip of the G-forces and the power and everything so good fun.”
The thrill of sweeping around the long Turn 3 and flashing through Turn 9 flat out is also appealing to Verstappen, but it comes with a major downside, dirty air.
“It’s great to do lap records, but to be honest I prefer good racing,” he said.
“The [current] cars are amazing to drive, they are super fast and for sure we’ll break some lap records.
“But when you’re following a car it is impossible. There is such a big downforce loss, and of course, with the cars getting faster, it is getting worse and worse.
“So for next year, the cars will not be as enjoyable to drive, but I hope the racing will be better.”
Last week, Verstappen explained how bad the turbulent air issue was by revealing how his Red Bull struggled for six corners between Turn 3 and Turn 9 just by being within a couple of seconds of Lando Norris’ McLaren.
But with much more of downforce being generated by ground effect with the 2021 cars, it is hoped the reduction in grip will be slashed from around 50 per cent now, to only around five per cent based on some estimates.
