Max Verstappen credited cooler conditions and a set-up overhaul on his RB21 as he went from the pit lane to third place in the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Enduring a horror show in qualifying on Saturday at Interlagos, Verstappen announced his title bid was all but over, the Dutchman clueless as to why his pace evaporated.
Starting from the pit lane, Red Bull fitted a new power unit and made substantial set-up changes ahead of the race, which transformed his car come race day.
Despite having a slow puncture and pitting on Lap 7, he surged through the field on an unusual strategy that saw him briefly lead the race at half distance before pitting for the final time.
Rejoining fourth on Soft tyres with 15 laps remaining, he passed George Russell’s Mercedes and finished third, on a day where Verstappen knew he had limited the damage.
“Yeah, I mean, miles better than our qualifying, that’s for sure,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Yeah, just a very strong race. I think we, yeah, just had a much better pace.
“I mean, of course, today also I think it was a bit colder, which maybe helped us. The car just felt a bit more responsive.
“And yeah, I think also, even with that puncture that I picked up on the Hard to then drop back to last and then come through the field again on the Mediums, I think, yeah, we did the right strategy at the end like that.
“And even on the Soft, it seemed like it was OK. Just when you start getting close and I had passed George, you already wear your tyres a bit. And then when I was getting close to [Andrea] Kimi [Antonelli], the tyres just start to overheat and you lose a lot of grip. And then, of course, the Soft is a bit more difficult than a Medium for that.
“But overall, it’s a super strong race. I mean, coming from the pit lane to the podium, 10, 11 seconds off the lead, I think for us is a very, very strong result.
“And yeah, definitely didn’t expect that, of course, waking up this morning.”
A story of two races in Brazil for Verstappen
Explaining his dramatic increase in pace compared to Saturday, Verstappen praised his team’s complete overhaul of the RB21, admitting a better qualifying could have been achieved.
“I think everything together, set up as well,” he said. “Yeah, I just felt a bit happier.
“Then I think also the temperatures today, a bit cooler. It just felt like everything was a bit more, yeah, working a bit better. I mean, definitely better than P16. That’s for sure.”
Reflecting on what he could have achieved without his slow puncture early in the race, Verstappen was coy, explaining the challenges of starting the race in the lower order.
“Impossible to know,” Verstappen admitted. “I mean, the Hard tyre, I don’t know if it was going to be a really good tyre.
“But I mean, I felt fine on the Medium. I felt fine on the Soft. When I was on the Hard tyre, yeah, initially, maybe the Medium had a bit more grip from what I could see around me.
“But at the same time, I mean, you’re all in dirty air. You’re just sliding around. So it’s impossible to know.
“But for sure, it’s not ideal. I mean, to pit again, be in the Medium back in the pack fully, and then have to go all the way through the field.
“I think that compromised a bit that first stint on the Medium, because I mean, I had to pass quite a few cars. You’re overheating tyres constantly.
“So that was a bit more of a difficult stint towards the end, I would say, the last eight laps, 10 laps. But still, yeah, a very strong race for us.”
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