Macau winner Verschoor had bent steering
Macau Grand Prix winner Richard Verschoor has revealed that he clouted the wall while leading the race and damaged his steering.
Verschoor passed polesitter Juri Vips for the lead after a safety car restart at Lisboa, and while the Red Bull junior driver was able to stay close, he couldn't find a way past and ran wide during one attempt to retake the lead at the same corner.
Just after, Verschoor touched the wall and it meant he had to fight to keep his car on the road.
“I tried to push really hard, but then suddenly I just touched the wall,” MP Motorsport driver Verschoor told Motorsport.com.
“All race I was f***ing on the limit all the time, so I just did a bit too much. Suddenly I turned to the right and I had to steer 90 degrees so I knew there was something wrong.
“That for sure didn’t make me quicker. I really thought I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him but I adapted quickly and we made it.”
Richard Verschoor, MP Motorsport.
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Verschoor was dropped by Red Bull in 2017, and has since been given favourable deals at MP, where he has contested GP3 and FIA Formula 3 since mid-2018.
He is the first Dutchman to win the race and the first rookie since Keisuke Kunimoto in 2008.
“It’s incredible, to be the first Dutch winner is of course really nice and historical,” said Verschoor, who finished 13th in the FIA F3 standings this year.
“I still can’t believe what we just did. For the team it was the first time here, for me the first time here, it’s just incredible for us and I hope it gives the team a better name.
“We were really not like how we showed this year, I’m sure that next year will be a lot better.
“The team always kept believing in me and they show me so much. To give them this back is incredible for me.”
Vips: DRS failure cost me likely win
Hitech Grand Prix driver Vips had dominated the Macau weekend up until the main race, and said that the lack of DRS for a lap robbed him of a likely victory.
The Estonian's DRS wouldn’t open when he tried to retake the spot later on, which followed problems with the system that prevented its use in the qualifying race.
“I really think I would have won because DRS makes around a 15km/h difference and I had my nose in front,” Vips told Motorsport.com. “Even without the DRS our pace was much faster.
“In Macau I’m really proud of the team, they have given me a great car all weekend. Just a little bit disappointed with the end result.”
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