Max Verstappen said his drive to victory in yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix was better than his widely praised performance in the same race eight years ago.
His performance in the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix, during his first season as a Red Bull driver, was hailed by many at the time as proof he was a champion of the future.
In streaming wet conditions similar to yesterday’s race, Verstappen got among title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, overtaking the latter at one stage. An extra pit stop after he switched to intermediate tyres dropped him to 16th, from where he recovered to finish third.
Yesterday Verstappen raced from 17th on the grid, with two empty slots ahead of him, to take victory. But given the circumstances of his championship fight with Lando Norris, Verstappen said he regarded this as his better performance.
“Those two are definitely in my top ten list,” he said after yesterday’s race. “But this one is definitely much more crucial than back in the day.
“There I had nothing to lose. I was not in a championship fight and I was coming from the back after the strategic mistake we had.
“Now there was a lot more at stake. So I had to be more controlled, more aware of the championship. So for me, definitely this one is the best one.”
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Verstappen scored his first grand prix victory since June, and realistically ended the possibility he might be beaten to the championship this year. He admitted his long win-less spell had been difficult.
“I wanted to, of course, win a bit sooner. But it’s been tough for us. We always kept pushing. We didn’t really understand why the others were so fast in the race, especially.
“I’ve been trying a lot of things to improve the car. And starting P17 this morning, it didn’t look like we were going to win the race again. So it’s an incredible result for us.
“A massive boost for the team, because honestly, it’s been tough. But it is also a big strength of the team to stay calm and just try to work on performance and improve our situation. And I’m confident for the last three races that we can fight again, and especially in the race that we will be more competitive.”
Reports: Verstappen’s virtuoso wet weather drives in Brazil
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