Verstappen says Qatar win "never straightforward" due to Norris pressure
F1 News
Max Verstappen was under pressure from Lando Norris for a long time at the Qatar Grand Prix. The difference between the two was very small until the Briton received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, but the Dutchman said the race was "never straightforward" in the Middle East.
"Most of the first stint, I felt quite good in the first two sectors," Verstappen started. "But then in the final sector Lando already started pushing a bit more from the beginning of the race, and I was managing probably a little bit more. At one point, because he tried to close the gap, I had to push also harder in the last sector. But I think still, he was being very quick also in the last corner, which has been a little bit of a weakness to us even in qualifying. It just evened out around the lap, almost every single lap. It was nice. I enjoyed it. Making sure that you don't make any mistakes."
Norris' pressure on Verstappen in Qatar
Things were very even between Norris and Verstappen throughout the Grand Prix. The two exchanged fastest laps as the race went on, and the Red Bull and McLaren drivers briefly came alongside each other after a safety car. However, due to Norris' penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, Verstappen won that battle over the Briton.
The 27-year-old from start to finish after taking the lead at turn 1 from the start of the race, but it was certainly not an easy race he said: "I mean, it's never straightforward. I think in the first stint as well, with Lando being there, honestly, I think the gap has been between 1.6 and 1.9 seconds, the whole stint, which you can't afford to make a mistake. And he didn't, I didn't, and we were just pushing flat out at one point. And it was honestly really enjoyable to drive because, of course, most of the races that we do, the tyres deg and you have to manage a lot. It felt like here you could push a bit harder and the track as well, the layout, I enjoy a lot. The grip is very good on the track."
Finally, the Dutchman said that the second stint was different because more safety cars came out due to a hectic Grand Prix: "With the temperature of the tyres as well, it was very tricky because my middle restart wasn't particularly great. I tried something else, but the tyres basically were too cold, so I just kept on sliding and having no traction. So that was not ideal. Besides that, the pace was good. A dry race like this for us has been a long time, so I'm very happy with the improvements that we made compared to the start of the weekend."
This article was created in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut
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