Max Verstappen has signalled his pleasure at the “spicy” battle he had with Lando Norris at the start of the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen started the grand prix from second on the grid after being stripped of his pole position post-qualifying.
However, the Dutchman captured the lead into the opening corner, with Lando Norris also slipping by pole-sitter George Russell.
A race of attrition followed with several safety car disruptions - however Verstappen prevailed out front to score his ninth win of the season.
The biggest threat for Verstappen appeared to be at the second safety car restart when he struggled for traction out of the final corner, offering Norris a chance for the lead.
“I had very little grip, I just came out of the box and they [the tyres] are really cold,” Verstappen said.
“Then immediately we had the safety car, and behind the safety car, you can't warm them up.
“I tried something different out of the last corner, where I had no rear grip. So I just struggled for traction out of the corner.
“It got a bit spicy into Turn 1, but I think that's great to see. After that, we drove it to the end with good pace.”
Verstappen will look to round up his win tally to double figures this weekend in Abu Dhabi, the final race of the campaign.
“Of course, the last few years, we've always been quite competitive there,” Verstappen said.
“So I hope we can be competitive again, but we'll pay attention to detail to try and optimise the car and hopeully we can fight for a win there again.”
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