'It can't be worse than today' - Max Verstappen expecting Brazil Grand Prix improvement after Sprint race disappointment
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Published 12/11/2022 at 21:47 GMT
For 12 laps at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint race on Saturday afternoon, it had seemed that Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen would secure yet another race win. However problems with his medium tyres compared to George Russell's softs saw him move down to fourth place, leaving the Dutchman hoping for improvement in Sunday's Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Max Verstappen
Image credit: Getty Images
Max Verstappen enjoyed the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite struggling with his tyres.
Verstappen took the lead from Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in the third lap but could only manage 12 in pole before he succumbed to a sustained challenge from Mercedes rival George Russell, on softs.
Russell had the better pace and could use both slipstream and DRS to get past the world champion, for his first-ever victory in Formula One in a race of any length.
The victory means that Russell will start on pole for Sunday’s full-length race, and Verstappen will be in third place, assuming Hamilton is not punished for a potential starting transgression, and after Carlos Sainz took a five-place grid penalty for a new internal combustion engine.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Verstappen explained how tyre choice had affected his progress.
"At the time I felt alright, it somehow didn't work but even on a soft I think I was going to be too slow,” he said.
"Really, we just had way too much degradation here today.
"We will analyse it, I am not sure if we can do a lot for tomorrow, but it can't be worse than today.
"At the end of the day, when you have so much more degradation than another team, it doesn't matter what tyre you are on.
"I think we just need to try and improve that first and normally the tyre should work.
"The battles were good. I was on the wrong end of it but the battles themselves, they were quite cool."
Team principal Christian Horner added: “We took the decision to start on the mediums. If [we] could survive the first 12 laps, the second half of the race would become a bit more comfortable and having survived the first half of the race, we actually ended up on a worse degradation than the sorts.”
“Mercedes had a very quick car today and we couldn’t hold them off.
“They’ve been heavily developing this car through the season and they’ve been getting closer, so it’s no real surprise that they’ve had this kind of performance and George has done a good job there.
“I think the soft tyre would’ve been a better tyre for us today but the advantage is that we take that extra set into tomorrow’s race so we gave it up strategically today, hopefully, we’ll get it back tomorrow.
“I’d rather have won the race and have two new sets of sorts but it sets up a really fascinating Grand Prix for tomorrow. Mercedes are going to be quick and drive a tactical race. It’s two Red Bulls against two Mercedes and Ferrari, you can’t rule them out either.”
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