“I didn't mind to stay out”: Max Verstappen reacts to Red Bull’s decision on not pitting in the opening lap as he wins the Belgian GP sprint race

Max Verstappen won the F1 Sprint during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend after losing the lead of the race to Oscar Piastri during the initial parts of the race since he had opted to stay out but had to pit during the second lap on a drying track for intermediate tires.

However, he didn't mind staying out, as he told Naomi Schiff during his post-Sprint interview. According to him, coming in on the first lap could have left him blocked by other cars, and he was confident about his pace.

"I mean, I could come in first but then I might be blocked by other cars. That might be a safety car and you lose massively. So I didn't mind to stay out."

He added:

"I mean, we lost one position but we know that we are quick and I think you could you could see that when we when we put inter tires we were flying, so it was okay."

The circuit was drying up massively after the drivers were instructed to follow the safety car for the first four laps of the Sprint.

Right after that, many drivers, including Piastri, who started P2, decided to pit at the rolling start of the race. Max Verstappen stayed out but realized that the track was dry enough for inters and pitted.

Although he lost his lead to Oscar Piastri, he was soon able to take it back after another safety car restart (post-Fernando Alonso's DNF) and won the Sprint.

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Max Verstappen reveals 'biggest risk' starting P6 tomorrow

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium - Sprint

Max Verstappen was the quickest during the qualifying session for the main race of the Belgian Grand Prix, which will be held tomorrow.

But he will be serving a 5-place grid penalty, following which he will have to start the race at P6, and Charles Leclerc, who originally qualified P2, will be starting P1.

However, it shouldn't be an issue for Max Verstappen since he won the race here in 2022 after starting P14 (with a 17-second gap over P2).

He still marked an issue that he could face during the race start tomorrow: the run down to the first turn of the track.

"I need to pass a few cars. So, I think the biggest risk is just that one, turn one, you know, these kind of things. Everything is always very tricky there."

The run down to the first turn on tracks like the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps can be lethal for the mid-field because of the high chances of a crash taking place in a chain reaction. Similar to what was seen during the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier.

After that, Verstappen is seemingly confident about himself and the Red Bull RB19.

"So, as long as we stay out of trouble, I think we have a quick car."