"What's going on?" - Verstappen stunned by Raikkonen battle
"What's going on?" - Verstappen stunned by Raikkonen battle
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has revealed his shock at having to defend from Kimi Raikkonen during the opening laps of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
The Alfa Romeo driver made up 10 positions to rise from 16th to sixth on the first tour of the Algarve International Circuit as drizzle and different tyre choices made for a chaotic start for the drivers on their first visit to the track.
Verstappen, who had to repel the Finn's attack on lap two, explained his confusion at suddenly being involved in a tussle with the 2007 world champion.
"I tried to stay out of trouble a bit, tried to settle down," said Verstappen, who was involved in a collision with Racing Point's Sergio Perez on the exit of turn four.
"Then I had Kimi behind me. I was shocked about that because I thought: “Am I really going to… like, what’s going on?” Kimi was flying, probably his rally driving helped him a bit in the first lap or something because that was pretty impressive."
Red Bull team-mate Alex Albon added to the conversation by stating that "Kimi was flying. He was on a different track to all of us."
The end result would not be what Raikkonen nor the team would have hoped for as he just missed out on 10th to Sebastian Vettel, despite the promising start and strong pace shown throughout.
Whilst the most experienced driver in F1 history was less than impressed with his start off the line, Raikkonen instead pointed a jovial jibe towards his contemporaries whilst recounting the dramatic opening to the race.
“I don’t think the start itself was very good," he said. "After that honestly I thought at one point ‘What are the others doing?’”
“I had a good first and then second lap, the speed was decent in the car most of the race, then we had a little bit of difficulties in the pit stop and in the end, I lost 10th place to Vettel with old tyres.
“We got nothing out of it, so that’s a shame. We need more speed then everything will become a little bit easier.”
Before you go...
Norris issues apology to Hamilton and Stroll
Mercedes dismissed Bottas strategy call to avoid race result interference
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull already sending parts to F1 race MONTHS away
- 26 minutes ago
Stats show SURPRISE F1 team dominate in crucial category
- 1 hour ago
Schumacher reveals what F1 pundits are NOT allowed to say about Red Bull
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton struggles pinned on Mercedes by team's OWN driver
- 3 hours ago
Verstappen issues MAYHEM warning to F1 bosses
- Today 09:12
Ferrari announce HUGE F1 change to iconic red livery
- Today 08:27
Related news
Schumacher reveals what F1 pundits are NOT allowed to say about Red Bull
Verstappen issues MAYHEM warning to F1 bosses
F1 team 'set to announce MEGA signing' in major Red Bull challenge
Horner in BRUTAL Wolff swipe amid Verstappen to Mercedes links
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860