Max Verstappen has been on the Ziggo Sports Peptalk show on Dutch TV again and our Netherlands correspondent Pieter Neefjes has done another transcription of the best bits of the interview for us, make what you will of Max’s answers, but Pieter gets the impression (and I agree with him) that we could well be seeing him wearing red in 2019…
J: Its been terrible for you?
Max: Yes, very disappointing. Especially in front of your own fans. For them you want a good result….well at least finish the race. Then when your race is over in just 8 laps that’s……annoying(laughs).
J: The feeling you have. The powerlessness in the car must be terrible but I think also your feelings towards the 80K fans?
Max: Yes absolutely. When it happens you think how can we fix this. Then you realize that is not a thing you can fix. Then you are of course pretty pissed. And there you go…strolling around the track. I think sometime its better for me to go around the track as a Flintstone, then I would at least reach the finish.
J: At that moment Fail one Fail, what is that, explain it?
Max: With that you can turn off certain sensors. It was a software problem, only that didn’t work either, too get that off that safety thing, so the engine keeps running.
J: So why does that safety thing kick in?
Max: So at the beginning of the year we blew up a couple off engines. They stuck on some safety so that wouldn’t happen anymore. But then you get this, that the engine doesn’t run anymore. With Fail one fail you can turn that off but that didn’t work.
(now the Dutch Eddie Jordan (Olav) chimes in….sighs. Talks (bragging) about talking to an engineer of Max about the problem and that they put in a new spark plug and the cars runs again.
Max: Not even, they took the spark plug out, put it in again and the engine ran again.
…
Max: They want to play it safe because otherwise the engine blows up. But I rather blow up the engine then coming to a standstill like this. And then when you turn engine off and on that it works again.
F: you stayed relatively calm, I found.
Max: Well it’s the sixth time, so you get used to it.
F: You have a point there
J: How do you follow the race when you’re are out?
Max: In my own room, not happy.
F: Are you watching the race?
Max: At one point I turned it off
F: I can imagine
J: If it’s not bad luck then what is it? The quality of the material, quality of the people involved with the material?
Max: It has to do with preparation. There are many examples, behind the scenes, that an engine arrives at a track and that is not right.
J: You say it isn’t really ready, there are examples. After the summer break the engine arrives and the engine is already broken.
Max: yes
J: The crankshaft.
Max: Yes, that is then one thing. But it are things that can’t happen with such an organization (RENAULT).
J: You have a contract with Redbull. Redbull has promised you other things and they have not come to fruition.
Max: You sign a deal with Redbull and you want a winning package. At the moment that is absolutely not happening.
J: Are you confronting Redbull. Is the deal you have coming under pressing because of this?
Max: Look, of course I let them know that I am not happy with the current situation….
I understand that the problem is not Redbull but it’s the entire package that needs to come together. I’m dependent on the package, also next year.
………
F: But you say, I am fed up (with the unreliability). What are the consequences, if they can’t get it together, you quit?
Max: We’ll see, at the end of the contract.
J: At the end of 2018?
Max: We will see then.
J: Before that time there are no tranfers to be expected?
Note; Olav begins to ramble that there are no seats available
J: So if the 2018 season goes the same as this season you wont be driving for red bull in 2019?
Max: Then I will demolish the place.