Max Verstappen says he can’t believe he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from so far back on the grid after a sensational recovery drive on Sunday.
Qualifying took place on Sunday morning and Verstappen was knocked out in Q2 due to the timing of a late red flag when Lance Stroll crashed. With a five-place grid penalty for exceeding power unit components already in place, Verstappen had to start from 17th, and while two cars ahead of him didn’t take the start he was still supreme in climbing through the field and then going on to win by almost 20 seconds.
“My emotions today have been a roller coaster,” Verstappen said. “With qualifying being really unlucky with the red flag, starting P17, I knew that would be a tough race but we stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were fine. So all of these things together make that result possible but I think it’s unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid.
“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.
“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 [Tsunoda], 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 [Ocon] 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.’
“At one point it was just red, like we needed a red flag. It was just undriveable, even on extreme tires, 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.”
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A number of Verstappen’s moves were made into Turn 1 early in the race and he says he knew it would be crucial to his hopes to be decisive trying to overtake and get himself into contention.
“It’s very hard to pass around here with the new tarmac — there’s only one line you can take but I just knew I had to go for it. It’s of course easier if you’re at the front to try and balance that out and I had confidence on the brakes, that helps.
“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 when I had 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.”