Hinchcliffe impressed by Verstappen move in Qatar: ‘Game, set and match’
Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
Max Verstappen won his ninth F1 race of this season last weekend by winning the GP Qatar. This was the cherry on top for the Red Bull Racing driver who has already won his fourth World Championship. Indycar driver and F1 analyst James Hinchcliffe shares why he was impressed by Verstappen's victory.
Verstappen was justifiably riled up at the start of the Qatar Grand Prix after losing pole position due to a one-place penalty. The Dutch driver did not hie his anger towards George Russell, who argued that Verstappen had driven in his way during qualifying. After Verstappen lost his pole position to Russell, he had only one goal in his mind: winning the race. After Turn 1, Verstappen had already regained the lead, controlled and eventually won the race.
Hinchcliffe saw a classic Verstappen victory
Hinchcliffe also saw a heavily exasperated Verstappen before the race, but thinks that brought out the best in the Dutchman. "Verstappen took his first Grand Prix win in dry conditions since the Spanish Grand Prix back in June in what was truly a quintessential Verstappen victory. It all started with his snatching of pole from George Russell on Saturday night," Hinchcliffe told F1.com.
"Even though the one position penalty for impeding effectively inverted the front row by race time – with a lap that was truly magical against a Mercedes with slightly more pace potential," Hinchcliffe added. "A brilliant launch off the line from now the dirty side of the track gave him the lead in Turn 1, and it was game, set and match at that moment."
This article has been created in collaboration with Jeroen Immink.
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