Verstappen: You really have to work hard behind the wheel in Sao Paulo

In Brazil, Max Verstappen topped the podium for the seventeenth time this season, breaking Albert Ascari’s 1952 record for percentage of wins and stages in a season. Askari once achieved six wins in eight stages, and this is 75%, and the Dutch Red Bull Racing driver has already raised the bar to 77.2%.

Question: Max, you had a great race and increased your record number of wins in a season to 17. Are you happy with this performance?
MaxVerstappen: Yes, I think the race was good. Maybe from the outside it looked like everything was easy, but I believe Lando Norris rode at about my pace during every segment. This was the case for almost the entire length of the segment, with the exception of the last five or ten laps, as we obviously suffered less from tire degradation.

But at the beginning of each segment I definitely had to maintain my full concentration and I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. On this circuit, especially considering the degradation of rubber, it is not that easy to drive.

Here you cannot relax and, without thinking about the consequences, just let the car roll into the corners. Here you really have to work hard behind the wheel, but luckily everything we did today, including tactics and pit stops, worked well for us. So I am very satisfied.

Q: You’re talking about the beginning of each segment, and we actually saw Lando right behind you for a lap right after the restart. Did you have to put in a lot of effort to defend yourself against him?
MaxVerstappen: He came very close and it happened suddenly. I didn’t expect him to try to attack on Turn 1 and I had to rely on battery power to some extent. In one lap I was forced to defend before the first corner and then before the fourth. After that I obviously tried to hold on to the lead.

However, at this stage of the segment it was very important to take good care of the tires so that there was an opportunity to get a good lap in before the pit stop.

Q: You say you had to take care of the tires. Was the situation better in that respect than in the Saturday sprint, because you rode the entire distance on soft tires?
MaxVerstappen: Of course, when you drive with a high fuel load, the situation is usually a little more complicated, you have to act more carefully, and that’s what we did, especially at the beginning of the race. But I think it helped us that the temperature of the asphalt was a little lower. In general, the situation in this regard was approximately the same.

Q: Let’s talk about the first start: Charles Leclerc’s car was no longer on the front row – did it change anything for you at that moment?
MaxVerstappen: There is always a risk of slipping the drive wheels and losing certain positions, but if there is no car nearby, which should be closest to yours, you can of course set yourself up to drive away a little worse. However, no matter what, you always want to start as well as possible.

Question: The next race will be held in Las Vegas on a new street circuit. What are your thoughts on this, as this is a new challenge to overcome?
MaxVerstappen: I’ll think about this when I find myself on this track. I want to say that there is a lot of preparatory work ahead, I still have to train on the simulator, because to be honest I don’t even know what kind of track it is yet.

The last time I drove the virtual version, I probably crashed into walls more often than I drove straight. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again when I hit the real circuit in Las Vegas!

But everything will be very different there than in Brazil: the temperatures will be very low and of course everything will happen at night. The circuit is a street circuit, we have no experience with it and we don’t know how much grip there is. Everything will be new, so surprises are very possible.

Q: Whatever happens at the end of the season, in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi you have already won at least 77.2% of the races this year – beating Alberto Ascari’s record from 1952, which was 75% , broken.

You broke a lot of records this season. Do you find these statistics exciting in any way? Do they still motivate you? Or has this all become too familiar?
MaxVerstappen: That’s not the point. You know, when I first started racing in Formula 1, I was not at all faced with the task of breaking the record of 75% wins in a season. These things happen when things are going really well. Now I feel comfortable behind the wheel, we have a very fast car and the team hardly makes any mistakes. That’s when the opportunity arises to run the season the way we run it.

So I’m just enjoying the moment and trying to make the most of every opportunity.

Question: The Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the third race in the US. Of course, Liberty Media is trying to draw the attention of Americans to Formula 1 and evoke some emotions about it. Do you like it? What do you think of Netflix’s approach while Drive to Survive shows a behind-the-scenes look at Formula 1? Or would you rather just concentrate on racing?
MaxVerstappen: No, personally I don’t like it. I don’t know, maybe I’m more of an old-fashioned person in this regard. For me it would be better if there were no social networks at all. We have freedom of speech, don’t you agree?

Personally, I don’t race to survive, but to have fun.