Verstappen almost lost everything with Kubica in Brazil

Max Verstappen won his 8th victory in F1 after avoiding trouble at the Brazilian GP where he started on pole. The pilot Red Bull resisted in particular the assaults of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) who was trying to gain the upper hand by anticipating his stops to trap the Dutchman.

The latter responded well by regaining the advantage despite Mercedes' good strategy. The Red Bull driver nevertheless narrowly avoided the Williams of Robert Kubica which was restarted while the RB15 was at his height in the pits.

“I almost took Robert’s Williams and hit the wall, confirmed the winner. I had to brake to avoid contact. Fortunately, at this time, Lewis was slowed down in the second sector by Charles. I was able to take advantage of the DRS by exceeding the Ferrari and that allowed me to catch Lewis at the first corner. »

While Lewis Hamilton was going to make a mistake by hitting the Red Bull ofAlexander albon At the end of the race, the Briton remained the leader's main opponent in the Grand Prix.

“Lewis was very fast and I had to keep attacking. He stopped a lap early and we really had to make the stops to stay ahead. I was able to pass him cleanly twice and then I could control the race with the tires I had. I was satisfied with my start and my first stint went well. »

“Lewis came back strong on the medium tires and I think we would have had a good fight for victory if the safety car had not come. The team reacted very well by calling me back to put on the soft tires. It was hot on the restart, but my tires made the difference. This fight was good, we left each other enough space and it was done according to the rules.", added the Red Bull driver.

Max Verstappen took advantage of the abandonment of Charles Leclerc to take 3rd place in the championship with an 11-point lead over the Monegasque before the last GP of the season in Abu Dhabi.

Discover the analysis of the Brazilian GP in AUTO issue 2443hebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.