Verstappen: Backing off made me a stronger driver

Max Verstappen believes that backing off made him a stronger driver in 2018, following his poor start to this season.

The Red Bull driver was involved in numerous accidents and clashes in the opening six races of the season and there were many questions about the Dutchman's approach but he is always insisted he woudn't change.

Verstappen dominated in Mexico, now near the end of the season, and is only 20 points behind third-placed Kimi Raikkonen in the Drivers' Standings.

"I do my own thing, even if there are a lot of things written, I really don't care," said Verstappen. "My dad always told me in go-karting, back in the day, if I was maybe overdriving or something, he would always tell me 'Max, even if you think you are not going fast enough, it's still fast enough'.

Verstappen won the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the second consecutive season with a two-stop strategy.

"I didn't sleep much (on Saturday) and found the race build up a long one, but after the lights went out my feelings soon changed," Verstappen continued. "Once ahead I could just settle in and concentrate on my own race, especially as Lewis (Hamilton) looked to be struggling with grip. I made sure I matched his lap times to maintain the lead.