Home

F1

Emilia Romagna GP: Max Verstappen Accepts Awful F1 Luck in Italy

Published 04/17/2021, 3:07 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Reuters

Max Verstappen seems to be carrying a curse that haunts him when he steps into the Italian circuits, especially Imola. The Dutchman has been experiencing awful luck at Emilia Romagna ever since the Grand Prix’s return to the calendar last season.

And the poor run has extended into this season as well. Verstappen’s Red Bull faced a massive blow early in FP2, as a driveshaft issue forced him to retire from the session after completing just five laps.

What did Max Verstappen say?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

As reported by AutoSport, the Dutchman opened up about his unlucky spell with the Italian race weekends. “I like Italy,” he said. “The food is good, I enjoy being here. Just the driving part so far hasn’t been the luckiest.

I had a driveshaft issue, so I had to stop the car.”

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest F1 stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

via Reuters

What’s painful is the horrible timing of the retirement. When the issue struck the Red Bull, Verstappen had already crossed the pit lane entry. Ultimately, he parked his car right alongside the pits on the main straight, leaving the team with no chance of receiving the car anytime soon.

Hence, the crew had to wait longer than expected, as the car made a lengthy trip around the circuit on the truck before being handed over to the Red Bull’s garage.

Should be alright: Verstappen

With the rivalry between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton flaring up, one might consider the FP2 retirement to be a massive fallback for the Dutchman.

However, the Red Bull driver reckoned that the damage is minimal despite the much lesser track run on Friday. “A little bit. But I think you know what you have to do anyway, so you should be alright,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Reuters

In 2020, Verstappen failed to finish all the three race weekends in Italy – Monza, Imola, and Mugello. While Mugello’s retirement was primarily because he was caught in a chain of collisions, the other two race retirements were due to reliability issues.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

This is definitely not a record one would wish to own. Hence, Verstappen will be yearning to break the shackles this time around and secure what will be his first podium on the Italian soil. But will he?

WATCH: Max Verstappen Suffers Spectacular Tire Blowout During the Emilia Romagna GP

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Rohit Kumar

1,915Articles

One take at a time

Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.
Show More>