Max Verstappen did not imagine to climb up from 17th to win F1 Brazil GP as he and Christian Horner talk about the mindset and pace on the day.
It wasn’t a great start to Sunday in F1 Brazil GP at Interlagos for Red Bull’s Verstappen, who was knocked out in Q2 along with Sergio Perez. To add to that, he had a 5-place grid penalty for a new ICE and so, he dropped to 17th on the grid for the start of the race.
He gained couple of places due to his rivals and immediately at the start, he gained further places to be running 11th at the end of the opening lap. It then didn’t take him long to be sixth in the train consisting of Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc.
He made attempts to pass Leclerc, but couldn’t do so. After the Monegasque pitted, the Dutchman had difficulties to pass Ocon for long as well. But they both eventually went long in their first stint and were joined by Pierre Gasly, running as 1-2-3. Their gamble eventually paid off due to the red flag stoppage.
At the initial re-start, Ocon managed to generate a gap to Verstappen, who stated that he was blinded by the visibility and was taking it cautious. But another safety car re-start was too much for the Frenchman, who lost the lead at Turn 1. Once in the front, the Dutchman generated a 19s+ gap over the Alpine driver to secure a crucial victory.
The win for Verstappen was cherished by him considering it took him 10 races to get back on the top step, as he went from the emotions of destroying the garage after qualifying to eventually winning the Brazil GP. Pre-race, the thought was about salvaging points in the title fight, but instead he created a 62 points lead over Lando Norris.
As he answered the questions from the press, Verstappen noticed that the usual lot of British media missing in the press conference. Considering the headlines he has been making especially in the British side, the Dutchman was quick with a joke.
“I have a quick question here,” he said of that while laughing. “I mean, I appreciate all of you being here, but I don’t see any British press. They had to run to the airport? Or they don’t know where the press conference is?”
Best race, win after 10 races –
Verstappen: “Yeah, I don’t even know where to start, because my emotions today have been from almost trying to destroy the garage to winning the race. I mean, starting P17… I knew that we could have a good race, but in qualifying, I think it was quite clear that there was only one line that you could take. So I knew that overtaking was going to be quite tough. But yeah, in the race, we had a good start. That helped already. We had a good first lap. From there, we just picked off a few drivers here and there. Then I got a little bit stuck behind the train of Yuki, I think. Then we just stayed calm. It was still a very long race, naturally. We made the right calls. When some pitted, the rain was coming, we stayed out. which was very sketchy. And then I saw Esteban in front of me flying, like four seconds a lap faster and I was like, ‘I’m just happy to keep the car on the track’. I mean, at one point it was just red, like we needed a red flag.
“It was just undriveable, even on extreme tyres, it would have not been possible because of the banking of the track here, you know, it’s filling up very quickly and it almost felt like I was driving a boat. I mean, of course, that was important. I wanted to, of course, win a bit sooner. But yeah, 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. Yeah, I’ve been trying a lot of things to improve the car. And I mean, starting P17 this morning, didn’t look like we were going to win the race again. So yeah, 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 try to improve our situation. And I’m confident. I’m confident for the last three races that we can fight again, and especially in the race that we will be more competitive.”
Horner: “It was an emotional roller coaster because we knew we had a good car. On Saturday, the car was quick, to finish third and to then lose it due to VSC, but be to able to follow that closely in the sprint race, we knew we have got good pace. Quickest in Q1, then obviously the way things played out and we were just very unlucky and so then having elected to take the 5-place penalty as well, and to be on the penultimate row of the grid in P17, so very quickly you have to brush yourself down and focus ahead, Max’s mental strength and attitude to deal with that is outstanding, and I thought his start was electric.
“That first lap was up there with Donington ’93, around the outside of Turn 3. I think he passed six cars on the first lap. Then he was the only car that was really making progress, being able to pick cars off – and so late on the brakes into Turn 1. Whether it was with Lewis, with Oscar Piastri, and then obviously at the restart with Esteban. And then he just controlled the race and pulled away with ease, at sometimes one second per lap. So, on a pretty dreary day, he shone pretty brightly.”
Where does it ranks –
Verstappen: “Yeah, I mean, for sure, those two are definitely in my top ten list. 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. And about the wet, I don’t know, I just said to Esteban as well, it’s like back in the day in go-karting, the guys that were good in the wet, they’re good nowadays also in Formula 1.
“And it always just, yeah. I was racing them as well in the go-karting and they were also good in the wet, so it definitely is a thing that you pick up when you’re younger, I think when you practice a lot. I think where we come from, it definitely rains a bit more than maybe in some other places. And yeah, you go out there, you practice, you get more comfortable, and you are definitely tuning your skills to be better. And I think you carry that, and of course, you evolve and become even better. And you use that to your advantage.”
What was pre-race thoughts –
Verstappen: “I was just very motivated to get a good race and just let the race pan out and see what happens. Because in a wet race, always some crazy things can happen. But soon, I was passing a few cars, and I had always one lap or two laps of free air. I was always the fastest on the track. So, I knew that, ‘OK, we are quick’. I just need to try and pass the guys to try and have a run to the front. I felt comfortable in the car. I feel comfortable in the wet anyway, but then when the car is also performing, it just doubles up and you can really pick up the pace.”
Strategy to go long, pace, new engine –
Horner: “We could see obviously that the weather was getting horrendous, the tyres were in good shape. The new set of tyres that he had was negligible. Again like sprint, he was in a queue of cars, at that point there was Yuki at the front with Esteban and Charles, he is in all that dirty air but we weren’t eating up the tyres. The tyres were in good shape and we could when Checo made his stop, the tyres were in very good shape, so that’s why we elected not to pit for a new set of inters and go longer because we knew that a heavy rain was coming, you could see absolutely pouring down behind the pit wall and you are in survival mode at that point, and it was surprising that a safety car was not thrown or a red flag earlier until unfortunate of [Colapinto’s] accident. So, we took the decision to ‘lets go long’, and then of course, our bad luck this morning was the fortune in the afternoon when the race got red-flagged and it effectively gets neutralised, and then after the race got running, I think, too soon.
“He took it easy, Ocon pulled out a lead, he was starting to close that down and then another safety car, and then his re-start, his braking manoeuvre was outstanding. It was competitive in dry as well, had we managed to pass Charles earlier, he would have been able to get to the McLarens, so already we were showing side of real competitiveness in sprint, and in the wet, it performed brilliantly. Everything is a package but there was no significant advantage in terms of horsepower or anything like that. All the overtaking Max did was on the brakes, not on a straightline. We elected to take that engine penalty here, because it is a track where you can overtake and we were regretting that in lunchtime but we are now grateful that we made that choice.”
Thought behind quick laps –
Verstappen: “Well, when I got past Esteban in Turn 1. I mean, before that, the pace was there, I was just trying to build it up slowly. Because after the red flag, the restart was very fast. And then just when the Safety Car actually came out, I was starting to catch him a bit. But then the tires were, again, very cold. And then, yeah, in the restart, I got by. And from there onwards, I just tried to look after the tyres, because you never know what was going to happen to the end. The wear is always very high around here. But yeah, I felt good. The car was having a nice balance. Just had to be concentrated to not make any mistakes, because the surface was still slippery.”
Title picture –
Verstappen: “I mean, this was now, of course, looking at it, it was incredibly important because in a way I was expecting to lose points today. So from now, I just want clean races to the end. I’m not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever. I just want clean races.”
Turn 1 move –
Verstappen: “Yeah, I mean, when you feel good with the car, I had a lot of confidence on the brakes because I passed a few people here and there. And I think that was one of these opportunities. I had a good restart. I was in the tow. And I knew that I passed a few people there before. So I was like, I’m going to send it up the inside. The camber of the corner helps you naturally a little bit. So, yeah, I just went for it. And then, of course, I saw that Esteban didn’t make it too difficult for me, and he slotted in behind me. Otherwise, I think it would have been 25 laps of trying every time. I mean, honestly, I went for it, and I think it was also very nice how then Esteban handled the rest of the corner.”
Racing do the talking amid opinions –
Horner: “I think the best response is to do the talking on the track and that’s what he has done and it was an attacking drive, to go from P17 to first, I think it is one of the best drivers of his career. On a day where conditions are difficult, obviously you see the differences in drivers. Now as a team we work very hard to give him a strong car and I think all credit to all the guys back in Milton Keynes for producing the car that he was able to deliver that kind of result with. So, it was a big result, I mean there were couple of surprises for me in that race. One was, it wasn’t red-flagged sooner, there were a lot of drivers who were feeling that the conditions were too unsafe.
“And then the re-start as well after the in and an out-lap behind the safety car, when the back of the tail hadn’t caught up, it just seemed over ambitious to get the race going again. But other than that I thought for the team and Max, it was a perfect race. Of course, there has been a lot of comments that has been made and opinions that have been voiced against Max and the way he drivers and I think the best way to answer those critics is to produce the drive that he did. We’ve watched a lead that has been diminishing since before the summer break and, having not won since June, it was great to hear the Rolling Stones playing again in the garage, in memory of Dietrich Mateschitz that we play every time we win a Grand Prix.”
Caliber –
Horner: “You know when to put an arm around him, he’s not that kind of driver, he works it himself. His mental resilience is huge, and that’s part of the strength he has but you could see how much it meant to him, I don’t think I have seen him that animated for a podium…I can’t remember the last time, so it meant a huge amount to him. I really believe that we have witnessed one of a great drive in Formula 1 today. It’s difficult to make those calls about generation to generation. Bernie [Ecclestone] rang me after the race and said ‘I’ve seen all the greats; and that’s one of the very best I’ve ever seen’. He’s a bit older than I am and seen a bit more, so high credit from someone like him.”
Here’s Max Verstappen taking the lead: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-sao-paulo-grand-prix-verstappen-pounces-to-take-the-lead-from-ocon-on-the-safety-car-restart.1814723896147791486
Here’s post-race: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-sao-paulo-grand-prix-verstappen-crosses-the-line-to-take-an-extraordinary-victory-in-brazil.1814726184272783774
Here’s how F1 Brazil GP panned out
Here’s how F1 Brazil GP sprint panned out
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