Max Verstappen has looked back at the "hectic" start to the Mexico City Grand Prix, which saw him take to the grass at the first corner.
It left the four-time F1 drivers' champion "rallying" to safety, narrowly avoiding contact with the barriers as he rejoined the circuit at Turn 3.
The Dutchman also shared how "surprised" he was to see all his F1 rivals on soft tyres at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Red Bull strapping medium Pirellis to his RB21.
When it was put to him that he rolled the dice at the start, given the long run to Turn 1 in Mexico, Verstappen revealed he was not expecting all others to be on the red-walled compound.
Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, he said: "I was surprised everyone else was on the soft."
According to the 28-year-old, who started fifth on the grid, that was not an option that was even considered by the Milton Keynes-based squad.
"Not at all... so that's why I was very surprised," he replied when asked how hard he had thought about going for the soft tyres.
When Verstappen eventually did turn to that compound later in the race, he strung together a series of impressive laps, setting a 1:21 lap time on 30 consecutive occasions as he stormed to third place by the chequered flag — and it could have been second had it not been for the late virtual safety car.
Prior to that, the Red Bull driver found himself fighting aggressively with those around him, who were all on the quicker rubber at that stage of the race.
Looking back at the difficult first stint, Verstappen said: "I had a very good start. Then you just follow the slipstream — three-wide, four-wide. I mean, just following, of course, what the car next to you is doing.
"So I had to move left, left, left. And then at one point, of course, you're on the kerb, and then I started bottoming out on the kerb. So that was quite hectic.
"And then a bit of rallying in between Turns 1 and 2. Yeah, that was quite fun. And then, yeah, got back onto the track, found my position again, and then actually, yeah, the first few laps were a bit hectic.
"But at the same time, also very quickly, I could see that the grip was just not there, and I was really struggling actually, to just follow the cars ahead of me."
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