On Sunday evening, Max Verstappen seemed to have a clear shot at second place in the Mexican Grand Prix, but a virtual safety car threw a spanner in the works, leaving him in third place. Verstappen saw the new World Championship leader, Lando Norris, extend his lead in the standings, but finished ahead of Oscar Piastri. Despite this, he was content with the final result: “You win some, you lose some. Sometimes you get lucky with the safety car, sometimes you don’t,” he responded pragmatically.
With four races and two sprint races remaining, the gap between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is 36 points.
Verstappen started the Mexican Grand Prix from P5. He survived a chaotic start. “The beginning was very hectic,” he told interviewer James Hinchcliffe on the grid. “We had a good start, but I ended up on the outside, had to go over the kerbs and almost crashed. And then a lot happened. Most of the drivers around me were on soft tyres, while I had chosen the mediums. So it was important for me to survive the first stint.”
After his only pit stop, Max Verstappen was able to start his comeback on the soft compound, which seemed to end in P2 for a long time, behind winner Lando Norris. However, the virtual safety car threw a spanner in the works, forcing him to also let Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc pass him at the finish. “But P3 is still a very strong result,” Verstappen concluded.
The Grand Prix of São Paulo is the next race on the calendar in two weeks.
