Max Verstappen claims he almost crashed in the ‘grandstands’ en route to Emilia Romagna GP victory

Verstappen reckoned that the hard tires simply went out of the operating window within a few laps. The reigning world champion claimed that it felt like he was driving on ice in the latter half of the race. Moreover, Max Verstappen asserted that he almost crashed into the grandstands at Turn 7 in what had been a very difficult race.

The tires just fell out of the operating window and it was just like driving on ice, really snappy. At Turn 7 I almost ended up in the grandstands, for my feeling, at some point. Max Verstappen explained

Max Verstappen admits he was surprised by Lando Norris’ pace at Emilia Romagna GP

Max Verstappen had led the race at Imola from the start. The Dutch driver initially created a healthy gap to Lando Norris who was in second-place. However, Verstappen lost plenty of time on hard tires which allowed Norris to gain time against the reigning world champion.

Verstappen admitted that he was simply trying to survive when he spotted Lando Norris step up his pace. Eventually, the Dutch driver found the McLaren right behind him in the final stages of the race. Max Verstappen confessed that he was not sure if he could retain the race lead till the chequered flag.

I was really trying to survive at the time, and then suddenly Lando really picked up pace. I could see him catch up and I was not sure if I could keep him behind. As soon as it was half a second lap, that's a lot. Max Verstappen stated

Nevertheless, Max Verstappen emerged victorious at the Emilia Romagna GP. The reigning world champion performed under pressure and made no mistakes. However, this race would alarm Red Bull about its competitiveness this season. As such, Verstappen and Milton Keynes have work to do to ensure their dominance stays intact this season.