Max Verstappen confesses he expected to lose points to Lando Norris at Brazilian GP
Max Verstappen stole the show at the 2024 Brazilian GP, starting from P17 and securing an unexpected victory. The race filled with rain and surprises, saw Lando Norris lead early from pole, but a risky pit stop cost him the lead.
Verstappen admitted he didn’t expect this result and thought he would lose points to Norris in this race. He also mentioned the rain made things unpredictable, but he took full advantage of the situation.
Everything had to go wrong for Max Verstappen at the Brazilian GP. He faced a series of setbacks heading into the race with a red flag during qualifying disrupting his final flying lap, leaving him starting 17th on the grid (five-place grid penalty).
This meant he had to fight his way through the field in the challenging wet conditions. However, changing the engine was Red Bull’s best decision as it gave the 27-year-old’s car an incredible pace to compete.
This was now, of course, looking at it was incredibly important, because, in a way, I was expecting to lose points today. So from now I just want clean races to the end, I’m not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever I just want clean races.
Max Verstappen toldMotorsportsweek.com
Verstappen’s speed was amazing, especially in the wet conditions. He had an incredible start, passing six cars on the first lap. But a red flag stopped his progress for a while. However, when the race resumed the Dutchman kept pushing, showing excellent control as he continued his impressive run.
As he won he stood on the top step of the podium admiring his simply lovely win at Interlagos, it was a key moment in his pursuit of the 2024 driver’s world championship. He expected to lose points to the front-runners, but that didn’t happen, which was a solid boost for him in the standings.
Max Verstappen reveals he wanted to win a ‘bit sooner’ than Brazilian GP
Verstappen and Red Bull have already dropped many points to McLaren and Ferrari, costing them the Constructors’ Championship. Their car issues and Sergio Perez‘s struggles to find his form caused them to lose the lead.
To make matters worse, they slipped to third in Austin, as Ferrari’s drivers consistently scored points. Verstappen admitted the team couldn’t pinpoint the problem, which kept him from winning races. Although the Dutchman finally broke the winless streak in Brazil, he admitted it would’ve been better to win earlier. This could have eased the pressure on both the team and himself.
Of course that was important. I wanted to win a bit sooner. It’s been tough for us. We always kept pushing, we didn’t really understand why the others were so fast in the race, especially. We’ve been trying a lot of things to improve the car.
Max Verstappen stated
Nevertheless, Max Verstappen expressed satisfaction with his long-awaited win, marking a strong comeback after facing numerous challenges. He expressed his desire for clean races in the remaining events as the 2024 season approaches its end. Only three Grand Prix’s are remaining on this year’s F1 calendar.
