Max Verstappen was the winner of the São Paulo Formula 1 Grand Prix, leading practically the entire race with a considerable advantage over Lando Norris (McLaren). However, his task was more difficult than it seems after watching yesterday’s race in Interlagos.
In a press conference provided by the FIA, the three-time champion explained that it was far from being a simple race, having to constantly be attentive to Norris’ threat: ‘I think it was good. Maybe it seemed completely easy from the outside, but I think for most of all the stints, Lando was matching my lap times. It seemed that in the last five to ten laps, we had better tire degradation. But at the beginning of all the stints, I definitely had to focus a lot and couldn’t afford to make mistakes. And here, also with the high tire degradation, it’s not the easiest track to drive. It’s not like you can just relax and let the car roll into the corners without any consequence. You really had to get it right. And thankfully, everything we did, also in terms of strategy, pit stops, was very good. So, I’m very happy about that’.
Particularly after the second start, Norris was intensely pressuring Verstappen for a while, and the Dutchman spoke about that moment: ‘He suddenly got very close. I didn’t expect him to have a go into turn one, but I had to use a bit of my battery. And for one lap, going into turn one, going into turn four, I had to defend. And then, of course, I had to try to maintain that distance. But I think what was also very important in that phase of the stint was really taking care of the tires. Making sure you have a good lap to stop in the pits’.
