24/06/2024
NEWS STORY
Aware of Lando Norris' pace, Verstappen talks of the aggressive strategy that allowed him to extend his title lead.
Of course, when talking of "aggressive" one shouldn't forget the McLaren driver on the run to Turn 1, when, having been slow off the line, Norris was seen to force his rival towards the grass verge in a bid to hold the Red Bull.
"I had to do a bit of rallying on the straight," the Dutchman subsequently told the media. "I had to take to the grass a little bit, which lost me a bit of momentum. And then of course, we're braking quite late into Turn 1."
Indeed, the stewards initially noted Norris for allegedly forcing another driver off track but opted to take no further action.
Nonetheless, as Verstappen and Norris battled, George Russell was able to come from behind and pass the pair, going around the outside in Turn 1 in a move which nobody saw coming.
However, just three laps later Verstappen retook the lead... and never looked back.
"What made the race was the beginning," he said. "I took the lead on lap 3 and then I had a buffer. Then in that first stint I could eke out the gap a little bit.
"After that, I had to drive a defensive race against Lando and McLaren," he continued. "They were very quick today, and in the last few laps, they were very fast. But we did everything well.
"Once I was in the lead I could look after my tyres a bit better, and that definitely made my race," he admitted. "They get very hot with all the high-speed corners, so you're sliding around quite a lot and it's just a management race.
"We drove quite an aggressive strategy," he continued, "but luckily it played out in the end. It was quite close, but I am very happy to win!"
"Max drove a brilliant race and I think strategically we got into a stride," team boss, Christian Horner told Sky Sports. "We always felt confident that with the tools we had, we had enough in hand. We went for an optimum race time and it paid off.
"We knew that McLaren would come back with the overlap on the tyre at the end of the race, but we just had enough in hand," he added. "It is fine margins. I think the two of them were circa 18 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
"Lando had the longevity, they went for a slightly different strategy but in the end, we got the job done and took maximum points.
"There was only one corner we could see Lando was quicker, which was in Turn 1. The rest, Max had it covered, so it was always going to get closer because of that tyre offset and the pit-stops."