Verstappen: 'Think Mercedes would never have got past me'
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- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen dominated the Mexico Grand Prix and therefore took his sixth win after the summer break, only in Singapore did the Dutchman not climb to P1. Red Bull Racing's tyre strategy was again perfect, ultimately never allowing Mercedes to get close to their first win of 2022.
"This was another top result of course," Verstappen told Viaplay. The Dutchman managed to strike the biggest blow on his way to victory when the lights went out. "The start was obviously very important to stay in front. We had the softs so I knew we might be able to drive away a bit at the start, but also that the mediums would come back after that. That was also the case."
Tyre choice
After about 25 laps, Verstappen swapped his softs for a set of mediums. On the yellow-walled tyres, the two-time world champion felt comfortable. "I actually had a really good feeling in the car and could slowly widen that gap," he said.
Mercedes think they threw away victory because of a flawed tyre strategy. They started both their cars on mediums and therefore had to go to hard tyres to achieve a one-stop. However, Max thinks he would have won anyway, even if Russell and Hamilton had started on softs. "I think they would never have got past me. Even though they had the same tyres, we have a bit more top speed, so then you don't just get ahead of them without DRS."
Verstappen continues to give everything
Verstappen now single-handedly holds the record in terms of most wins in a single season. The 25-year-old driver now stands at 14 wins and there is still a maximum of 16 to go. " We still have two more chances, so of course, we will go all out for that," he concludes with a big smile.