Max Verstappen has once again amazed with a spectacular comeback at the Brazilian GP, finishing in second place after starting from the twenty-first position. This is the third consecutive time that the Red Bull Racing driver has made a great recovery race at Interlagos, after winning from sixteenth place in 2024 and putting on an incredible race from the pit last year.
Despite the final result, Verstappen’s start was not the best. In the post-race press conference, the world champion acknowledged an error in his initial reaction: ‘I had a very slow reaction time because I was holding the wrong horn. I had to react very quickly, and that’s why I started slowly, it was my mistake.’
Throughout the early laps, the driver faced a bottleneck in the first three corners, which limited his overtaking opportunities. ‘Lewis had a very good first lap and was able to overtake a lot of people. I was a bit disappointed not to be able to overtake as much as he did,’ he added.
However, from that point on, Verstappen showcased his ability to quickly advance through the grid, overtaking rivals practically at every corner. ‘In two laps, I was passing a lot of cars. We had much more grip than most of the midfield. I don’t know at what point I entered the top 10, but it all happened very quickly,’ he explained.
After a pit stop, the Dutch driver felt a change in his car, which no longer responded the same way. ‘From the moment I switched to slick tires, I had an extreme amount of oversteer in the high-speed corners, which made driving very difficult. We need to understand if something broke in the car, like an aerodynamic loss, because this was not normal,’ he indicated.
Verstappen added that, despite having a good race, he knew it could have been better. ‘I was in the car for most of the race that wasn’t in good condition. I checked the back of my car right after getting out to see if there was any damage,’ he concluded.
Despite the complicated strategy, Verstappen’s comeback to second place was recognized, and he was awarded the title of Driver of the Day. In the future, the driver hopes to avoid penalties that force him to start from the back. ‘Maybe next year I would like to start a little further up instead of from the back or the pit,’ he stated.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
