'My start was just terrible' - Max Verstappen hoping to avoid second Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix start mishap

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is aiming to make sure he does not repeat his underwhelming start from the Imola Sprint race. Saturday saw the Dutchman fail to get away quicker than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who darted forward to take the lead, and almost closed in on victory until tyre degradation allowed the world champion to regain top spot, and the eight points that come with it. Ad/> The win means that Verstappen will again start on pole, this time for the full race at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, and he is keen to avoid putting himself at an instant disadvantage again.

Emilia-Romagna Grand PrixHamilton admits Mercedes will 'obviously not fight for the championship' after Sprint failure19 HOURS AGO «The start was very poor and we need to analyse why it happened like that because I think all the (practice) starts I actually did this weekend have been quite good, so (it was) a bit weird,» Verstappen told Sky Sports. «When I let the clutch go, just a lot of wheel spin and no traction. So my start was very, very poor.» Of the speculation that his side of the track is the dirtier and slower, he pointed to Lando Norris of McLaren who was in third.

Could 2022 struggles cause Lewis Hamilton to retire? Hamilton admits Mercedes will 'obviously not fight for the championship' after sprint failure Verstappen makes late move to sweep past Leclerc and take Imola sprint win «I mean Lando had a decent start, so there's no excuse,» Verstappen explained. «My start was just terrible. I didn't have gear sync for whatever reason.