Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix, setting a new record for the number of victories in one season – 14. At a press conference after the finish, the Red Bull Racing driver summed up the twentieth stage of the season.
Ask Max, you had a brilliant race and set a record for wins in one season. How do you rate your performance?
Max Verstappen: I think I did another great race. We knew the first stint would be crucial, so the challenge was to cover as much distance as possible on the soft tires. As you can see I succeeded.
Closer to the pit stop the problems with the tires started, but luckily by then the lead was enough to last a few more laps. After the switch to Medium, the tires worked fine and we realized quite early on that we could make it to the finish on this set.
As I said, another great race in a great season for the team. I never thought I could win 14 races in one season, so I’m incredibly proud.
Q: You broke another record – the number of points earned per season. Now you have 416. How much can you earn before the end of the year?
Max Verstappen: We have a sprint in Brazil and other races, so I hope I can earn some more points, but this is still not the main goal. The task is to win the title, and how many points are earned in this case does not matter. However, the number of points earned says what an incredible season we have had.
Q: Can we talk about strategy? Have you considered switching to hard tires in a single pit stop?
Max Verstappen: Not. I liked the Hard in the first training session – I didn’t like these tires. That’s why we didn’t want to use this compound in the race.
Q: During the race we heard the team talking about the build of the car and the difficulties in shifting. Did you really have a lot of problems in the race?
Max Verstappen: No, there were no serious problems. I attacked the curbs too aggressively, so I looked for other trajectories – some worked, some didn’t. As for the gears, the gear shifting problems only started after the pit stop. I think the clutch just overheated. Everything was fine after that.
Q: What allowed you to maintain a lead over Mercedes at the beginning?
Max Verstappen: The start was critical. I made a small mistake at the start, but nevertheless the start turned out to be good. In addition, we have a high top speed, which helped to stay ahead in the first corner.
In fact, I never worried that Mercedes might overtake me. Of course, if we were completely flat on the straight, it would be more difficult, but I was able to stay ahead, so everything is fine.
There were some issues at the end of the first stint on the Soft, but it all came down to completing the scheduled number of laps – and it worked.
Q: What do you expect from the last two races of the season? Are you already focused on preparing for next year?
Max Verstappen: Of course we have already shifted the focus to preparing for the next season. However, we now have a fast car, so we will try to win the next two races – there is no doubt about that.
Q: Max, you called social media a toxic place. Has there been more negativity in social networks directed at you? What can it be connected to?
Max Verstappen: I think this is because of the growing popularity of sport – the more people watch Formula 1, the more people write. It’s not good that people are allowed to write such things, but I hope an algorithm is invented that will stop the keyboard warriors…
Such people will never come to you to make claims personally. They prefer to sit at home behind the computer and write what they want with frustrated feelings, because social networks make it possible. This can be devastating and painful for some, but it doesn’t have to be.
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.
