São Paulo Grand Prix race winner Max Verstappen has revealed he
“almost drove off the track” whilst watching Red Bull teammate
Sergio Perez battle Fernando Alonso. Verstappen took a commanding
victory at Interlagos to secure his 17th of the season, confirming
he would break Alberto Ascari’s 71-year record for the percentage
of races won in a single campaign. But the race for third was far
more enthralling behind as Perez closed on Alonso’s Aston Martin,
the Mexican finally making the move into Turn 4 on the penultimate
lap after stalking the two-time World Champion for the entire final
stint. Alonso was taking none of it, however, and pulled off a
repeat move on the final lap before holding onto the position in a
drag race up to the line. “The last few laps I was watching – I
almost drove off the track myself when I saw them fighting on the
straight,” Verstappen told Viaplay, referencing the battle. “At
Turn 4 I almost drove straight off the track because I was watching
the screens so much. “It was very close together, but those last
two laps they were also constantly changing. Very nice.” Red Bull
nails race strategy Verstappen led from lights to flag at
Interlagos, though had to fend off an early onslaught from
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who ultimately finished second. But the
Dutchman had enough in hand to stretch his advantage towards the
end of each stint. “It was fortunately a good race,” he explained.
“The starts were good, in terms of strategy we also did the right
thing and pitted at the right time. “On the Soft tyres and also on
the Medium tyres, Lando could keep up reasonably well, but in the
last five to ten laps of the stint I was able to distance myself.”
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