Max Verstappen explains why he didn't like his hard tire stint in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP

Although Max Verstappen comfortably won the 2023 F1 Spanish GP, he himself was not the most comfortable while driving on the hard tire.

While the race was going on, the Dutchman also came on the radio and stated that he was not liking the tires. Since it was a two-stop race, he eventually pitted for soft tires during the latter stages and was much more pleased with them.

Max Verstappen later explained how the hard tires were similar to medium tires in terms of degradation, but they were sliding a lot more.

This means that the traction on hard tires was much worse, which made it difficult for Verstappen to control the RB19. However, since the car was so quick, he mentioned how it did not affect the lap times or the gap with other drivers.

"It was a worse medium, to be on the same kind of deg and it was just sliding a lot more. And once I felt that you just have to do your laps on it. Then of course, luckily we had another pit stop but it was definitely not the most enjoyable stint I’ve ever done in my life – but luckily the car is still fast, so you don’t really lose time," Verstappen said in the drivers' press conference after the race.

Even though Red Bull and Max Verstappen are untouchable in the 2023 F1 season, he stated that he was quite surprised with the performance of the hard tires in the Spanish GP.

However, he admitted that these kinds of surprises will come their way, and they still need to stay alert and cautious every race weekend.

"I didn’t expect that with this hard compound but sometimes you have these surprises. Like I said, it wasn’t as enjoyable and probably a little bit harder to drive," Verstappen added.

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Former F1 driver praises Max Verstappen's honesty regarding his and Red Bull's dominance in F1

Former F1 driver turned commentator Jolyon Palmer recently praised Max Verstappen's honesty and straightforwardness regarding his and Red Bull's dominance in the 2023 F1 season.

Palmer mentioned how Verstappen is well aware of how dominant he is. He also compared this to how Mercedes used to downplay and sandbag their chances of winning when they were dominant.

"I don't know about you, but I kind of like Max's honesty with it all as well," he said on F1 TV during the second practice session of the 2023 F1 Spanish GP.

"So often, I'm used to hearing Mercedes when they had a dominant car be like, 'No, every race is a danger, every race they will catch us up. You know, the tires are gone and each race has its own jeopardy.' Whereas Verstappen...I kind of admire the fact that he turned up to Miami and said, 'Look, bad race here and I'll finish second, good race and I'll win.," Palmer added.

Max Verstappen, along with his teammate Sergio Perez, have won every single race. The Dutchman believes that Red Bull can do so for the entire season if everything goes perfectly for the team.