Max Verstappen shares chaotic Sao Paulo GP wish as huge F1 penalty looms

Max Verstappen shares chaotic Sao Paulo GP wish as huge F1 penalty looms

Max Verstappen has named his desire to see the Sao Paulo Grand Prix feature a lot of safety cars to bring him back into contention.

The Red Bull driver will be starting from the back of the grid at Interlagos, with Lewis Hamilton, after his team elected to fit a new power unit to his RB22 machine after an issue on Friday. 

In the wet qualifying session in Brazil, Verstappen completed Q1, and looked competitive before opting to save tyres in Q2 by not running, with the race forecast to be as wet as qualifying.

Reflecting on his day and looking ahead to the race, Verstappen expressed a desire for a chaotic grand prix which could bring him back into contention for a strong result as he looks to consolidate second place in the drivers' standings - where he leads Hamilton, who is also taking an engine penalty, by two points.

When asked what his desire for the grand prix was, with the conditions expected to be similar to qualifying, Verstappen indicated a chaotic wish.

"Lots of safety cars, so they can't pull away," he told media, including RacingNews365.

"Then they can keep coming back to me, but I don't really think too much about it, so I'll just go from Lap 1 and see where I end up."

As for coming through the field with Hamilton, Verstappen added that he hoped "we can clear the cars in front as quickly as we can."

Reflecting on the call to box at the end of Q1 and not partake in Q2, Verstappen agreed it was the "right call."

"I wasn't fighting for anything; my mind is already set to [the race]," he said.

"So it was just about doing a lap, not risking anything, but every lap I did, we were up there, but for me, that is not a surprise."