Max Verstappen: “I gave everything I had”

Max Verstappen had warned after his second pole position of the season obtained on Saturday in front of a surprising Fernando Alonso : his rivals for the championship are Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc were certainly relegated far on the grid, the Dutchman did not expect an easy race however. The Sunday events confirmed his thoughts, because, after having controlled the race for the majority, an intervention by the Safety Car following the exit from the track of Yuki tsunoda put it under pressure from Carlos Sainz for the last fifteen laps.

“It was a difficult race until the end, even with fresh tires, because the Ferrari was fast, reacted Max Verstappen to Jenson Button's microphone after the race. I gave everything I had, Carlos too. I noticed that he was attacking, reloading, etc. It's even easier to recharge your battery with DRS, but I'm happy with this victory. »

The world champion owes his salvation in particular to the speed of his car, which was able to keep the Ferrari of its Spanish pursuer at a reasonable distance despite the use of DRS. “We are really fast in a straight line, but our opponents were also very strong in terms of pace. It was quite difficult to escape, and Carlos had fresher tires at the end of the race. I would have preferred to attack than have to defend, but fortunately it worked until the end. » 

Verstappen is having a major operation in the Drivers' Championship, he who is now 46 points ahead of his teammate Pérez, forced to retire due to a mechanical problem, and 49 over Charles Leclerc, fifth after starting from 19th place.

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