Max Verstappen admits he almost “destroyed” the Red Bull garage ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen shared the strong emotions he felt from Sunday’s delayed qualifying to his triumphant victory at Grand Prix of Sao Paulo. after the start on the 17th. The three-time world champion admitted that after qualifying his temper led to him “almost trying to destroy” the Red Bull garage.

Verstappen, competing in two controversial races in Austin and Mexico that were part of a tense triple-header that ended in Brazil, was keen to defend his lead in the drivers’ standings from Lando Norris. However, two 10-second penalties at the Mexico City Grand Prix were his biggest setbacks, allowing Norris to close the points gap.

The Interlagos race weekend was also riddled with obstacles for the Dutchman, starting with a penalty for using a sixth combustion engine in 5th place. Additionally, a late red flag in Q2 saw Verstappen secure 12th place, relegating him to 17th due to a penalty. Verstappen looked furious after the session, questioning the red flag delay. However, he was undeterred by the tough challenges, dangerous wet track conditions and near-zero visibility. The Red Bull driver charged through the field, eventually taking the lead and crossing the line first.

The dynamics of the race changed dramatically when Norris and race leader George Russell swapped new tires after more than 20 laps on intermediate tracks. However, their timing coincided with the end of the safety car period, costing them crucial positions and allowing both Alpine cars to take the lead with Verstappen caught between them. Shortly afterwards, a serious accident involving Williams driver Franco Colapinto brought out the red flag, leaving Verstappen directly behind race leader Esteban Ocon. Verstappen quickly passed Ocon and eventually finished with a lead of more than 19 seconds at the checkered flag. Speaking about the range of emotions he felt from qualifying to winning the race, Verstappen said:

“I don’t even know where to start because my emotions today ranged from almost trying to destroy the garage to winning the race.

“From 17th I knew we could have a good race, but in qualifying I think it was very clear that there was only one track to go on, so I knew it would be quite difficult to overtake.” .

Speaking about the good start that helped him take decisive positions in the opening laps and the good decisions made by Red Bull during the race, Verstappen added:

“We had a good start and that has already helped.

“We had a good first round.

“From there we just picked a few drivers here and there, and then I seemed to get stuck behind Yuki’s (Tsunoda) train a little bit.

“We just stayed calm, it was still a very long race and we made the right decisions: some pits, the rain was coming, we stayed on the sidelines, which was very sketchy.

“And then Esteban (Ocon) in front of me was flying about four seconds faster. I thought, “I’m just glad the car is staying on the track.”

“At one point it was just red, we needed a red flag. It was simply impossible to drive it.

“Even on the extreme tires it would have been impossible due to the roll of the track – it filled up very quickly and it almost felt like I was driving a boat… a jet ski… definitely needs more cornering.” speed on a jet ski.”