Max Verstappen has no plans to seek tow advantage in qualifying

Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Portugal — Photo: © LAT Images

Azerbaijan Gand Prix

Verstappen has no plans to seek tow advantage in qualifying

Slipstreaming on F1's longest straight could be key to securing pole position

Will Gray

Saturday 5 June 2021 13:12

Max Verstappen will not ask Red Bull to line up team-mate Sergio Perez to provide a tow during qualifying for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, even though the additional speed could help him secure pole position.

The street circuit has a 1.2km long straight which, coupled with the high-speed turn 16, sees the cars at full throttle for 2.2km and gives the opportunity for drivers to gain a significant slipstream advantage by following another car.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton underlined the possibilities in final practice by securing a tow off Perez that helped elevate him to third fastest when he would likely have been ninth or 10th quickest.

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This has led to some teams orchestrating tandem running in the past, with the aim of giving one driver a benefit, but Verstappen said: “Within the team, you always have a rule [for who goes first in qualifying].

“One weekend one starts first, the other one for the next. You just keep switching that around, so I don’t even know actually if I am ahead now or behind. But anyway you need to have a bit of luck to get that tow to the line.

“I think it’s really hard to plan. Most of the times you try to plan it, it fails, so it's better to just try to do the best lap you can and normally that should be a good enough lap to be more or less where you should be.”

A big tow helps Lewis into P3 late in FP3. You're not going to want to miss this Quali! 👀 pic.twitter.com/sFlVV9arGJ
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 5, 2021

Verstappen's immediate thoughts, however, will be on the repair work needed to his Red Bull after colliding with the barriers in the Saturday morning session.

Baku tow a "massive" advantage

Verstappen’s comment came in a pre-race press conference where he spoke alongside Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who quipped: “You give me a tow, Max, I give you back!”

Ocon agreed that given the speeds of the current F1 cars, achieving a successful tow is extremely challenging, but doing so could make a massive difference for drivers like him, who are in the extremely tight midfield pack.

“If you get a tow, for sure, you gain a massive amount of time for the first corner, and the same on the last at the end of the lap, but this is something you get luck with,” he explained.

“If you get it, it’s good, if you don’t, well, you are screwed. Some teams will do strategies, some not. Let’s see how it plays out. But we know that it is a big advantage for everyone.”