Max Verstappen jokes staying awake was toughest task
Monday, 11 October 2021
The Dutch driver found it too was risky to push the tyres early.
Max Verstappen regained the lead of the Formula 1® world championship but the Red Bull star seemingly wanted a tougher test in Turkey.
It was Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas - who had started from pole position after Lewis Hamilton's 10-place grid penalty for an engine change - who triumphed in a damp Istanbul on Sunday.
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However, Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez completed the podium, with the former situated inside the top three for much of the race.
In difficult conditions, Verstappen explained how it was too risky to push the tyres early, conceding Bottas' car seemed to have more speed.
Asked what the trickiest part of the race was, Verstappen joked: "To stay awake!"
He added: "No, it was just all about managing the tyres, so you were never pushing to make it to a certain amount of laps and then you'd box for another set, happy to be on the podium."
Bottas, meanwhile, celebrated a first victory of the season.
"I think from my side, I have to say, one of the best races I've had, ever," said the Finn, who is leaving Mercedes at the end of the season.
"Apart from one little slide, everything was under control. But like I said before the race, the car has been really good in every condition, I had really good confidence in it, could really control it.
"It's not easy to choose the strategy here with the conditions, when to stop, when to switch tyre and everything, but I'm glad with how everything went.
"When there's only one dry line, it doesn't need much to go off. A difficult one, it feels like a well-earned victory."
Bottas' jubilance was in stark contrast to the frustration of his team-mate Hamilton, who had to settle for fifth place after a late call to pit by Mercedes.
Hamilton is now six points behind Verstappen in the championship race heading into the United States Grand Prix.
"It's been close the whole year and I'm sure again in Austin it’ll be a good battle with Mercedes, so we just have to keep on pushing, keep on trying to improve and then we'll see where we end up at the end," said Verstappen.
"So far this season has been really good."
