Max Verstappen struggled with the bumps on the resurfaced Interlagos Circuit. He believes that it made it more difficult to drive as his Red Bull RB20 bounced a lot, ultimately costing him valuable time.
For Saturday’s Sprint, Verstappen qualified in fourth place. His championship rival Lando Norris was beaten for Pole by teammate Oscar Piastri and starts second after an impressive performance in Sprint Qualifying. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the Top 3.
Speaking after the session, the three-time world champion says that into the session the team was off pace. He explains that the bumps make it difficult to drive the car and that the jumping cost him significant time in the battle for Sprint Pole.
“As soon as we went into qualifying, it looked like we were definitely off,” Verstappen said. “The car, a bit difficult on the bumps. I mean, they did the resurfacing, but I think they actually made it worse to drive. It’s extremely bumpy everywhere.
“That’s not good for our car. So yeah, all the bumpy areas… the cars jumping around a lot, and it’s costing me quite a bit of lap time, unfortunately.”
On Friday, the FIA confirmed that Verstappen will take a 5-place grid drop for Sunday. Red Bull installed a sixth Internal Combustion Engine in his car following struggles in Mexico City. The Dutchman didn’t serve a grid penalty there, as he was given one PU from his pool ahead of Saturday action.
Asked on what is possible for Sprint, Verstappen believes that their race pace is not the strongest. On his penalty, he says that he still got some work to do.
“Normally, when you’re already quite a bit off over one lap. I don’t think we are particularly the strongest in the race. So we’ll have to see how that goes tomorrow in the sprint. Of course, I also know there is maybe some weather around that can come, but maybe not for the Sprint. And then for the penalty, I have a bit more work to do.”
The São Paulo Grand Prix stages a crucial point in the championship fight between Verstappen and Norris. At Mexico, Norris was able to close the gap by a further 10 points. In the Sprint and the race at Interlagos, he gets another two big chances.
