| door Terrence Riepma
Max Verstappen is now known as a driver who rarely or never makes mistakes, but the Dutchman himself can still remember a moment when he went wrong. For that we have to go back to the 2016 United States Grand Prix, where it went wrong with an unscheduled pit stop.
Verstappen remembers the moment all too well. “At one point I was fifth or so,” the Red Bull Racing driver is quoted by F1-Insider. And my engineer said: pushen, pushen. Then you assume that you have to go to the pits that lap. That’s why I stepped on the gas. Once in the pit lane I suddenly realized that I had not been called in at all.’
It led to an unplanned pit stop that took longer than desired. “I was never told to stop,” Verstappen continues his story. ‘At that moment I thought: oh god what am i doing here?The then only 19-year-old tried to warn his team. “I said I was coming in and then I saw the guys running out with the tires. Of course the stop then lasted eight or ten seconds, which was still quite fast.’
Verstappen past Marko: ‘Told him I screwed up’
In the end it didn’t matter much, because Verstappen later retired with a technical problem. However, the now two-time world champion had to report to Helmut Marko, who was not exactly happy with his action. ‘I told him I had screwed up, very easily’, the Limburger looks back at that moment. And he appreciates it when you honestly admit a mistake. He hates it when people start making excuses.’
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