Max Verstappen: « The gap was very small at the end »
This was definitely not the easiest race for Max Verstappen this season. Even though he has won for the 15th time in 2023, he had to fight to achieve it.
Despite many obstacles on his way, Max Verstappen managed to keep the ship afloat for the entirety of the race. Aware of having a car far superior to that of his rivals, Verstappen showed enough wisdom early in the race. 6th on the grid, the Dutchman managed to erase George Russell as soon as the lights went out but encountered fiercer resistance from the Briton’s teammate a few meters higher at the top of turn 1. Coming out of the hairpin side by side with Hamilton, the Dutchman chose wisdom and preferred to brake so as not to risk damaging his front nose at the entrance of the fastest section of the circuit.
He then passed the two Ferraris without much difficulty. However, in the open air, the reigning world champion did not rush his comeback and remained for nearly 8 laps at 5 seconds from Lewis Hamilton’s second place. In the space of 5 laps, Max Verstappen considerably closed the gap to victory thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s troubles and a mistake by Lando Norris on the 25th lap. A few laps after the McLaren driver screeched his front left tire on the asphalt, the Dutchman bravely dove inside to take over the lead of the race.
The end of the race for the new triple champion also defied the predictions. While a breakaway from Verstappen was expected, numerous brake problems prevented him from taking off. Now, it was Lewis Hamilton who played the role of hunter during the last 10 laps. Losing tenths after tenths at each lap, Verstappen dryly asked his engineer to stop talking to him so he could concentrate on his driving. All these little mishaps did not choke the victory machine. Max came to win with less than 2 seconds lead on his pursuer. No doubt that if the race had lasted a few more kilometers, the result would have been different.
« It wasn’t an easy race. Starting 6th didn’t put us in a favorable position. The whole race, I was struggling with my brakes. There are definitely some strings that I couldn’t pull today given the number of turns. The gap was very small at the end with the backmarkers and my tires were deteriorating which made the situation tense. »
With this victory at the United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is only one win away from Alain Prost’s record.
