Jos reflects on Mexico win: 'When Max is angry, he is even faster'
Published on 29 October 2018 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen dominated most of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend and finished it off in style with the win in Sunday’s race. It was the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver’s fifth career win and second consecutive victory in Mexico. Max’ father, Jos Verstappen, spoke to Ziggo Sport’s ‘Peptalk’ and reflects on his son’s impressive performance.
“It was a good one”, said Jos, who acknowledged that Max missing out on pole position was the one negative of the weekend. “Like Max, I was disappointed. I phoned him before he went to bed and I tried to calm him down a bit because he was very angry that the car wasn’t perfect. But in the end, a pole position is nice, but winning is more important.”
Jos was able to encourage Max ahead of the race. “I talked to him on Sunday morning. Apparently he hadn’t slept well at all. He was still frustrated that he missed out on pole because of the car. But usually when Max is angry, he drives even faster. He really wanted to make a point and win this race.”
Winning was exactly what the youngster did. “The whole weekend he was dominant. I actually think it was better he started from second. If you look at Hamilton’s start, he squeezed between the Red Bulls. If Max had pole, he would’ve been on the outside and Hamilton on the inside, instead of the other way around. So in the end, it worked out well.”
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was not the only driver with a good start. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel caught a good slipstream. “Max knew how quick the Ferrari was going to be so he made sure there was no space for Vettel alongside him. It meant Vettel was boxed in.”
Watching the race was a tense affair, especially when Daniel Ricciardo suffered another reliability related DNF. “You keep thinking the same could happen to Max. Also, he wasn’t on the coverage that much; I wasn’t able to see his tyres, which gives a good indication if there are problems. But after the race, Max told me he had taken it easy. He didn’t want to overheat the tyres. He told me he was cruising.”
Like last year, Max won the race, whilst Hamilton clinched the world title. Jos has been impressed with the 2018 champion. “What Hamilton does for the sport is amazing. But now I want to see Max race against him. We’ve seen it here in Mexico but the Red Bull was the fastest car. Even if Hamilton had taken the lead after the first corner, I still think Max would’ve won.”
