Max Verstappen: « The victory was not as obvious »
Max Verstappen was the author of another dominant performance at Silverstone. Despite a poor start, the Red Bull driver managed to get back on track to overtake Norris and clinch his 8th victory of the season.
Arriving at Silverstone, Max Verstappen set foot on the turf of almost all of his rivals. This race was where every driver wanted to be the one to bring down the Dutchman from his pedestal. With three British drivers on the grid and nearly double the number of teams based on the lands of King Charles III, the Red Bull driver could surely feel some pressure from the 450,000 spectators in attendance. Perhaps it was this pressure that caused Verstappen to stumble at the start of the race.
Overtaken by Lando Norris, the reigning world champion had to show fierce defense against the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri in the first lap. Suffocated by the grip of the young rookie and caught in a McLaren sandwich, the situation was not favorable for the Dutchman at the start of the race. It was the DRS activation that gave him a breath of fresh air. With the stratospheric top speed of his car, he managed to create a small gap ahead of Piastri before becoming very present in the rearview mirrors of Lando Norris. On the 5th lap, he overtook his simracing teammate to regain the lead of the race. From that moment on, the authoritative and untouchable Verstappen revealed himself once again. From a second on the 8th lap, he increased it to 5 seconds by the 22nd lap.
Despite the safety car deployment, the wind that bothered him during his first stint, and some concerns surrounding his soft tires during his second stint, nothing could dislodge Verstappen from his favorite position.
Our start was dreadful. Even after that, the pace of the McLarens was very fast. This made overtaking more difficult. Then I managed to create a gap and everything went well. With the soft tires, it was not as easy to extend the lead. 11 consecutive wins for the team is amazing, but today’s victory was not as straightforward as previous races.
Verstappen thus secures his 6th consecutive victory this season, his 8th of the season, while his teammate, Sergio Perez, could not do better than 6th. There is now a gap of 99 points between the two drivers of the Austrian team. Max Verstappen will be able to go on vacation in a few weeks with a clear mind.
