Max Verstappen understands that his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez went on the attack in the first corner during the Mexican Grand Prix. The Mexican had a good start, but eliminated himself in a last-ditch attempt to take the lead.
“I understand that he tries when he is in that position on the outside,” Verstappen, who won the tumultuous Mexican GP, said at the press conference.
“But if you look at the images afterwards, maybe he could have left a little more space. On the other hand: if it had worked, it would have been great. What did I get from it? I was mainly focused on Charles (Leclerc , ed.) and suddenly saw a car flying through the air. It is a shame for the fans that it fell out so quickly.”
The 32-year-old Pérez started fifth and was already third after a few hundred meters thanks to an excellent start. Entering the first corner he tried to overtake both Verstappen and Charles Leclerc on the outside. But the Mexican cut in too early, torpedoed himself on Leclerc’s front wheel and retired.
Verstappen, who started third, was able to take the lead partly due to all the commotion. The Dutchman stayed out of trouble in a hectic race, which was briefly halted by a heavy crash by Kevin Magnussen, and recorded his sixteenth victory of the season.
Verstappen takes the lead and Pérez drops out during a chaotic start in Mexico
‘It’s been another incredible year’
Verstappen thus improved his own record from last year. Then the Dutchman was the first driver ever to win fifteen races in one season. “It is another incredible year,” said the three-time world champion.
“The car is really great to drive on most circuits. As a team we try to work well together and if you don’t make too many mistakes you get results like this. Last year I had fifteen wins and I didn’t think it was It was possible to equal that once. Now we are at sixteen and there may be more victories to come.”
Verstappen will get the first chance to further improve his record next week when the Brazilian Grand Prix is scheduled. Afterwards there will be racing in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.
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