Saturday’s day in Sao Paulo was an authentic pause for Max Verstappen, who acknowledged that the waiting time during the qualifying of the Brazil Grand Prix turned into a waste of time. The Dutch driver, aware of his engine penalty which limited him to starting from the back of the grid, opted to spend his waiting moments watching English football.
Despite showing speed in the first phase of qualifying, with a time that placed him third, Verstappen decided to leave the track before the session ended. The penalty relegated him to twenty-first position, just behind (Lewis Hamilton and in front of Sergio Pérez.
During the wait marked by the red flags, the Red Bull Racing driver responded to the question of how he had spent that time with a smile: “Watching football. Premier League”. He specified that he had followed several matches, with one particularly interesting, that of Nottingham Forest against Manchester City, which was 3-1 before he returned to action.
Verstappen, with an ironic tone, expressed that he had lost “12 hours of his life that he won’t recover” and, when warned that the public might be surprised by his football fandom before competing under delicate conditions, defended that there was no problem since, anyway, he had to start from the last grid.
Looking ahead, Verstappen admitted that his trajectory in Sunday’s race might be more complicated with the cars of the 2026 season. “Two years ago it was possible to come back, but now without DRS, overtaking will be more difficult”. The weather conditions —with rain forecasted— could play in favor of some drivers, a factor that influenced the strategic decisions of various teams.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
