Max Verstappen is happy and proud that a difficult weekend for Red Bull has ended so successfully and that the team has won the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 2013..
Wonder if the Race was exciting, and your victory is a worthy way to honor the memory of Dietrich Mateschitz. In addition, this victory allowed Red Bull Racing to win the Constructors’ Championship – an unforgettable moment for you and for the whole team…
Max Verstappen: Of course this is a difficult weekend for us, and today we really wanted to win. Everything went well, but the last pit stop lasted 11 seconds, after which we had a hard time of course.
The safety cars made the peloton quite tight and we had to bounce back. At the beginning I had an interesting duel with Charles, and when I got ahead of him it seemed to me that I was working too aggressively with rubber, even though it was the very beginning of the segment, so the next few laps I didn’t manage to overtake Lewis like that fast as I wanted.
But as soon as I felt the tires were back to normal, I was able to gradually close the gap and attack for Turn 12. Then I tried to get away from Lewis for a few laps so he wouldn’t have the chance to use DRS, and that was not an easy task.
I think during the race you could see that after I was ahead of Charles, he also stayed behind me for a few laps at a distance that allowed me to use DRS. Since this system works quite effectively here, it was not easy.
Of course we are happy that such a difficult weekend ended in a victory. I think Dietrich would have liked this race. Of course I am sad, but at the same time I am incredibly proud of our whole team, it has worked very well. Of course, with the exception of an unfortunate pit stop, when we broke the key, but this sort of thing is unfortunately possible.
And yet we managed to win the constructors’ championship as well. I am very proud because this is our joint achievement. Everyone who doesn’t go to the races, but works from the team, has put in a lot of effort this year.
Q: What was your mood after that pit stop, which lasted 11 seconds?
Max Verstappen: I was very upset, I swore a lot, but as soon as I turned off the speed limiter in the pit lane, I had to pull myself together and try to win the race. Although it was not easy. Luckily this track is great for fighting unlike some others where in a similar situation the race would have been over for me.
But Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a real race track where you can overtake. You saw, when I first tried to get ahead of Charles, he was able to counterattack because the 1st turn is so wide that you can take different trajectories there. In addition, it is so wide that you can’t even predict where the opponent’s car is at the start of your maneuver.
All of this adds up to an interesting fight on the track, as there are many different opportunities to overtake, on the inside, on the outside or something else. Overall the track is excellent.
Question: You received Medium tires for the last part of the distance. Was it an obvious decision for you, or, since Lewis was riding on harder tires, did you think it was the medium-hard compound that would allow him to fight?
Max Verstappen: The team asked me during the race what I thought of the difference between the two setups. I think it was because of my information that they chose Medium. In my opinion it was the right choice. But I don’t think it mattered that much because we were fast on both tires. But the Medium rubber source was just enough for the finish.
Q: It was your 13th win of the season, repeating the record set by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. Are you probably already thinking about the 14th?
Max Verstappen: I already mentioned that the season now consists of a larger number of stages, so talking about statistical records is not always justified. I think we’re going to have a great season this season, but if you have a fast car, of course you can win a lot of races. Sure, I’m proud of having so many wins, but I don’t pay much attention to stats. I’m just happy to win races.
Q: You said that at the start of the last part of the distance, after you beat Charles, you had problems with rubber, but then the tires went back to normal. Can you explain how you did it? And can you tell us about catching up with Lewis?
Max Verstappen: The tires just overheated a lot. The kit was fresh, so it had to be warmed up properly, but if you’re chasing an opponent in fast corners, you always have to turn the handlebars a little more, and this isn’t the best way for the tires.
But once you’re on a clear track, the tires automatically cool down a bit, and this lasted for several laps. But I think everything went well, and the fight on the track was interesting.
Q: What can you say about the US fans and how you are received in the US? After all, a record number of spectators once again gathered in the stands of the Austin car dream, despite the fact that the champion had already been determined …
Max Verstappen: I think everyone was a little surprised why Formula 1 was not so popular here before. But in recent years, people are getting more information about our sport, also thanks to Netflix. And before that, the championship was very closed, it was impossible to get close to the teams. But now everything is becoming more open.
In addition, Netflix has enabled the public to learn more about Formula 1 and when you start to understand what happens in the championship, you don’t just see cars driving around in circles. I think that’s why people have become more interested in Formula 1, and this is noticeable all over the world, but especially in the US, where the championship’s popularity is growing rapidly.
I love coming to the US, especially because there will be three races here soon, and they are all completely different, which is also very important. So I’m looking forward to next season, I want to see how it goes.
Q: During the race you said the wind really bothered you…
Max Verstappen: Yes, the wind created additional difficulties, so the car’s behavior was less predictable, which also affected the rubber degradation, and here you have to make several pit stops. Sometimes you manage to get into a good rhythm, everything goes well, nothing special happens and you just look at the condition of the tires.
But on this number you need full concentration and pay attention to all the nuances. It is easy to block the wheels here, so there are difficulties. At the same time, Austin has a great job. After all, most of the new tracks are inferior to the old school tracks, but COTA is on such a level, because the first sector here is just cool. Sure there are some slow corners, but it’s a great track to race and I think most of the riders like coming to Austin.
Plus, the city is growing fast, I love being here, I can really see that Austin has gotten a lot bigger than it was in 2014 when I first came here. All this is impressive and of course I hope that we will be able to come here many more times.
Q: Would you like to live here?
Max Verstappen: They say everything here is fine with taxes, right? ..
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
