For the first time in his F1 career, Max Verstappen has won the Chinese GP, another nice check on his list of achievements. Just like during the sprint race, Verstappen managed to win the race in a fairly simple manner.
“It felt great. We were fast all weekend. The adjustments we made yesterday made it a little easier to drive. It was a pleasure to drive this car, on any type of tire,” Verstappen looks back on his race. “This track is tough on the tires, especially the front left. So I had to manage that, but we were at least four or five tenths ahead of the rest every lap, so we were fine.”
“We performed the restarts well and the car was on track. I could do whatever I wanted to do with it. Weekends like this are great to experience and to achieve what we achieved this weekend is fantastic.”
Due to various collisions, there was quite a bit of debris on the track. Verstappen was therefore worried for a moment whether he had a flat tyre.
“You always hear noises. I have experienced it in the past where I dropped out at the end. There was some rubbish on the track that came from another car. I drove past it at 200 miles per hour and you know when the tyres get cold and old they can easily get punctured, so I really wanted to double-check.”
Verstappen also looked ahead to the Miami GP, which will take place in two weeks, a race of which he won the first two editions.
“Normally, it should be a good race for us,” Verstappen replied when asked how he assesses his chances there. “It’s a bit more straightforward with the strategy, but it’s always a tricky job and I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a crazy weekend there, so it will be busy.”