- Verstappen waved at Pierre Gasly after battery issues ruined Suzuka overtake.
- Starting 11th, Verstappen struggled with energy deployment in Japanese GP.
- Dutchman sarcastically signalled Gasly while fighting inefficient battery systems.
Following the Japan GP, Max Verstappen revealed the reason why he waved at his former teammate Pierre Gasly as he overtook him during the closing laps.
This particular moment went viral on the internet, with fans hilariously interpreting it, including remarking on the Dutchman’s humour amid car struggles and having appeared to have accepted the fate under these new regs.
Verstappen was out of Q2 during the Japan Grand Prix, leading him to start from 11th on the grid, whereas his teammate, Isack Hadjar, outqualified him to commence from 8th. Throughout the many laps, Verstappen constantly chased Gasly, but his battery depletion held him back on the straights, with the latter eventually going past him.
Being stopped by the energy management scenario, which he has been consistently vocal about, he just turned his helplessness into humour, saying goodbye to his rival through a hand gesture.
Verstappen explains the viral goodbye moment of Gasly
During an interview with DAZN, Verstappen explained what made him wave goodbye to Gasly, who drove past him during the closing laps of the Japan GP. He admitted that one can pass easily, but then again, one suffers the battery problem in the next straight. “That’s what happened once, I tried it, because otherwise you just sit behind the whole time, right? So I tried, then you got me back on the straights,” he added.
He then sarcastically added that he waved at Gasly as a way to tell him that he would see him later and that he would try to pass him again when his battery becomes full. Citing that Suzuka is already a difficult track, the energy deployment feature made things even trickier for drivers. “It’s probably even harder because it’s extremely like inefficient to use your battery in a different place than normal or more than normal. So yeah, it’s a bit painful,” he shared his take on the challenges of battery systems on such circuits.
Gasly impressed by AT02
Gasly also recently opened up about his battle with the 4-time World champion, citing that he felt a lot of pressure from him throughout the race. He noted that earlier in the race, he was “comfortable” on the mediums, but was aware of a potential safety car’s emergence, which could prompt a tyre change.
However, he tried his best to remain focused and avoid mistakes while managing his tyres as Verstappen continued to build pressure on him. He revealed that throughout the race, the Dutchman remained “very close” and that Red Bull did much better on hard tyres than they did. However, he was happy that they were able to keep Verstappen behind and secure 7th place. Additionally, he believes that this is the best F1 car of his career aside from the 2021 Alpha Tauri.
