Despite finishing fourth, Max Verstappen reflects positively on the sprint race of the São Paulo Grand Prix. At the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the Dutchman manages to avoid trouble during a chaotic race, where several drivers crash out.
The four-time world champion drives a solid race, climbing from the sixth starting position and a restart to fourth place. “You couldn’t push much on those soft tyres, so I was just trying to drive consistent laps,” Verstappen says in an initial reaction to Viaplay. “I couldn’t drive the lap times they were driving in front of me in the first few laps anyway, I’m a bit of a diesel.”
According to Verstappen, it is particularly difficult to find the right balance in the opening phase. “There was little grip. Then the same: I couldn’t keep up with the guys in front of me at the beginning, just drove my own pace. Lando (Norris) was on soft tyres, which are just inferior, you could also see that with Fernando Alonso. So it’s a distorted picture that it’s so close together, because on the mediums Lando drove away. So yes, we maximized it.”
Nevertheless, Verstappen sees plenty of room for improvement with a view to the qualification and the main event tomorrow. “We’re going to make some adjustments to the car and hopefully that will bring more grip.”
