Max Verstappen has shared how his thinking developed throughout the course of the São Paulo Grand Prix after an early puncture wiped out all his initial hard work.
The Dutchman chronicled his superb performance from the pit lane to the podium, a rare feat in F1, after the 71-lap race at Interlagos, explaining how he put his difficult weekend to one side to carve through the field.
With Red Bull unable to optimise the four-time F1 drivers' champion's RB21 by the sprint, in which he finished fourth, the team gambled on set-up for the remainder of the weekend.
It did not work, and Verstappen was consigned to his first Q1 elimination in qualifying since the Russian Grand Prix in 2021.
The Milton Keynes-based squad pulled him from his P16 starting position, making further changes to his car and fitting a brand new power unit in the back, forcing him into a pit lane start.
Reflecting on that second roll of the dice, Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365: "Well, I jumped into the car, I was only just hoping that the car would be more competitive.
"But in the laps to the grid, it already felt better than the whole weekend, I would say."
The 68-time grand prix winner made quick progress through the pack. By the time the race restarted on lap six, after Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc-induced safety car, Verstappen was up to P13.
However, a suspected right-front puncture on his hard compound tyres forced Red Bull to bring him in. Although a subsequent virtual safety car limited to the pain, he dropped to P18 and last on the road.
"After the start, picking up that puncture, then being last again — I was like, 'My God, nothing is really going my way this weekend'," he added, explaining his frame of mind in that moment.
"But then you just settle in. You try to do the best you can: pass the cars in front of you, try to run the optimum strategy. And it all worked out."
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Doing the right thing
Verstappen championed the efforts of his team to transform his weekend, despite losing potentially fatal ground to Lando Norris in the F1 drivers' championship fight.
While he closed 10 points to Oscar Piastri in second, the Briton in the other McLaren extended his advantage over the Red Bull driver to 49 points, with only 83 left on offer.
Nonetheless, Verstappen maintains that the six-time constructors' champions did everything it could to provide the foundation of a strong drive and strong result.
"With the team, we did the right thing," the 28-year-old said. "And then at one point, you're fighting for that podium — you see it with 10, 12 laps to go. That’s nice.
"But at the same time, in the race, I’m not projecting something. I’m just focusing on the moment, trying to hit every lap as consistently as I can.
"So, yeah, besides that, of course, the message is that we found a much better feeling in the car again by changing a few bits. But at the same time, it was also quite a bit colder today, and that might also have an effect."
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