Incident has little impact on Verstappen: "The last time I had a serious collision with a wall was here."

Max Verstappen doesn't consider his incident in the pit lane to be particularly remarkable. The Red Bull Racing driver acknowledges that such things can happen, and it was his first collision with the wall since the 2021 British Grand Prix. Although timing became tense, Verstappen ultimately succeeded in securing pole position. As the race begins, McLaren's drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, emerge as the current main contenders, starting from P2 and P3 respectively.

Verstappen's pole position was not a guarantee due to McLaren's excellent performance. Additionally, the Dutchman had an eventful moment during qualifying. "Of course, I had that incident in the pits where I destroyed my front wing," Verstappen humorously imitated Charles Leclerc during the press conference. "I experienced some understeer when pulling away. I had to replace the front wing, which meant starting from the back for the final run, and that was quite thrilling. It just goes to show how things can quickly turn in the wrong direction."

When asked if the incident also affected him mentally, Verstappen jokingly responds, "I think I'm now afraid to drive out of my box." He quickly adds, "No, it has nothing to do with confidence. My engineer asked me what happened, and I simply said I had understeer." Although the reigning world champion has had few recent crashes, he vividly remembers the last significant collision. "The last time I seriously hit a wall was here a few years ago, so these things happen. I've had a crash in the pit lane before, but not in Formula One."

Verstappen: "As long as they continue to take points off each other"

To the surprise of many, Norris will start alongside Verstappen in the race. The Red Bull driver is pleased to see McLaren making progress. "It's great to see both of them up here. It's an impressive result for their team, especially considering where they were at the beginning of the year," Verstappen remarked. However, it remains uncertain whether McLaren can pose a genuine challenge in the race. If that's not the case, Verstappen doesn't mind as long as they continue to take points off each other. "I don't care who my closest competitor is, as long as they keep battling each other and taking points away," said the two-time world champion.