Max Verstappen looks back on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with a good feeling. The Dutchman had to leave the victory to teammate Sergio Pérez on Sunday, but could not be disappointed because he had started fifteenth.
“It was not so easy to get to the front today. Especially in the first sector it was difficult to follow cars,” said 25-year-old Verstappen ahead of the podium ceremony. Verstappen had to start the Grand Prix in fifteenth because he had technical problems during qualifying.
“It feels good that after our difficult qualifying we still made it to the podium,” continued the two-time world champion, who also had technical problems during the race.
“The driveshaft wasn’t functioning as it should yet. We had a big gap to number three, so we decided not to take any chances and settle for second. And that’s just a good result when you finish fifteenth luckily we managed to clock the fastest lap at the end.”
Because Verstappen recorded the fastest race lap and thus took an extra World Cup point, he was still ahead of Pérez in the World Cup standings. The Dutchman has one point more than his Mexican teammate (44 to 43).
Although Fernando Alonso was allowed to take the podium as number three, the Spaniard lost that place afterwards due to a time penalty. George Russell finished third as a result. The Formula 1 season will continue in two weeks with the Australian Grand Prix.
Unfortunately, this content cannot be displayedWe do not have permission for the necessary cookies. Accept the cookies to view this content.
.