Max Verstappen managed to make an incredible comeback after a disappointing qualifying for the São Paulo GP saw the championship leader take no further part after Q2 after bad luck with the timing of a red flag left him down in 12th place, which would become 17th on the grid after his penalty for using an additional Internal Combustion Engine outside his allocated pool for the season was applied.
But the three-time world champion didn’t let his Sunday morning frustrations affect him in the race, despite admitting that he was in a mood to “destroy the garage” after his bad luck in qualifying:
“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,” he admitted. “I knew that we could have a good race, but in qualifying I think it was quite clear there was only one line you could take, so I knew that overtaking was going to be quite tough.
“We had a good start, a good first lap, and that helped already. From there onwards, I just picked a few drivers here and there, and then I just got stuck behind the train of Yuki [Tsunoda], but then we just stayed calm because it was still a long race, and we made the right calls.
“Some pitted. [but] the rain was coming so we stayed out – which was very sketchy – and then I saw Esteban [Ocon] flying in front of me, like four seconds a lap faster, and I was like ‘I’m just happy to keep the car on the track’.
“At one point it was just that we needed a red flag, it was undrivable. Even on extreme [wet] tyres it wouldn’t have been possible [to run], because of the banking the track is filling up really quickly, and it felt like I was driving a boat, or a jet ski,” he jokingly said.
The Dutchman explained how he kept calm during the race, knowing that he had race winning pace once in clear air, and praised the team for making a tricky RB20 work well in the treacherous conditions around Interlagos – and revealed he knew he could win as soon as he overtook Ocon in the final safety car restart on lap 43:
“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. I was passing a few cars and I had always one lap or two laps of free air.
“It was always the fastest on the track. I knew that, ‘okay, 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 and 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.
“Well, when I got past Esteban in turn one, [I knew I could win]. I mean, before that, the pace was there, [but] 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 the restart, I got by and from there I just tried to look after the tires. 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. I just had to be concentrated to not make any mistakes.”
When asked about the importance of this result given the championship ramifications, the Dutchman, who now leads Lando Norris by 62 points, with just 86 still up for grabs in the next three events, considered it to be “incredibly important”, given he was expecting to lose ground to the McLaren driver following the disappointment of qualifying and the inevitable engine change penalty – but insisted he’s not thinking about winning it just yet:
“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 am not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever. I just want clean races.
“I mean, relief,” he told Sky Sports when quizzed about the championship. “I was confident that we could do a good job. But this has been much better than anyone I think could expect today.”
The Dutchman believes that not only his driving won the race, but also sharp calls from the pit wall and an essentially fast car made the difference on a tricky day in São Paulo:
“I surprised myself today to win here, to be honest.
“But we had a really good start. We stayed out of trouble. We made good overtakes.
“We were very fast. We’ve made the right calls with the red flag to stay out. And after that, suddenly the rain just came down and it was even undrivable on a wet tire.
“The calls with the team as well, I know that they are super calm and just amazing in helping me as well, from the pit wall, making the right decisions. In races like this, it’s just massive to have that.
“I never thought I would win today. I had a good feeling that I could come forward.
“But yeah, I feel comfortable. I mean, of course, from a young age, I’ve been driving a lot in the wet together with my dad, with my best friends. We’ve been practicing a lot of different scenarios every time.
“And of course, I think naturally that makes you comfortable in these conditions. But on the other hand, the car still needs to work. It gave me confidence today.
“And of course, incredibly pleased with this result. It’s just been an unbelievable race for us.”
