Max Verstappen reflects on his "crucial" overtake to win 2021 Mexican GP

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen reflected on his victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit on Sunday, saying it was "crucial" to overtake the two Mercedes cars at the start of the Mexican GP. The win extended the Dutchman’s lead in the F1 drivers' standings over rival Lewis Hamilton to 19 points.

However, the 23-year-old championship contender refused to get carried away by his title lead. The Red Bull Racing driver has been vocal about not believing in momentum when it comes to the title race and prefers focusing on one race at a time instead.

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Max Verstappen unaffected by title lead or momentum shifting in his favor

Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and the rest of the field at the start during the 2021 Mexican GP. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Explaining his electric race start to Sky Sports F1, Verstappen said:

“It was crucial to get that start sorted and get them into Turn 1. I never thought about it too much. I just said to myself, let's see what happens.”

Grabbing the lead at the start positioned him well for the rest of the way, which saw him pit just once over the 71-lap distance. The move at the start was key to the outcome of the race on a circuit that favored the Red Bull Racing team.

Describing the sequence of events after the lights went out, Verstappen said:

“Once we went three wide, I knew on the outside exactly where I wanted to brake. I also knew if the guys tried to copy where I was braking they were not going to make the corner.”

Speaking to Formula1.com, the Dutchman reflected on his race start by saying:

“We went three-wide and it was about who was going to brake the latest and I got both of them into Turn 1, so that it gave me the race and I could just control it from there.”

Explaining the key to nailing the start, Verstappen said:

“It was nice, three-wide, and it was all about just trying to brake as late as you can. I kept it on the track and went from third to first and that was basically what made my race, because then I could just focus on myself.”

Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the field at the start during the 2021 Mexican GP. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Commenting on the rest of the race, the Dutchman said:

“We had incredible pace in the car, so I could just do my own thing. And I mean, you never know what the others are going to do, right? But we made it stick.”

Concluding his comments on the Mexico weekend and looking forward to the next race in the triple-header, Verstappen said:

“The car was really, really good. We basically controlled it to the end. It’s always been a good race for us, you know, so we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves because, again, in Brazil, it’s going to be a tough battle.”

Commenting on the momentum favoring him in the title race, Verstappen remarked:

“It's a long way to go, but it's of course looking good, but also it can turn around very quickly.” He reiterated what he has said several times before about the momentum saying “I don’t believe in momentum”.

He insisted on focusing on the task at hand more than the championship effort, saying:

“So every single race we have to try and nail the details and we didn’t do that yesterday, so, you know, things can go wrong very quickly or can go right.”

The Dutchman, who won the Brazilian GP in 2019, expressed his views on the weekend ahead by saying:

“It’s going to be really tight and exciting to the end. This (Mexico) has always been a track [that is] really good for us so I expect Brazil not to be like it was today. But I'm looking forward to Brazil. I also have good memories there.”

Brazilian GP venue Interlagos is another track expected to favor Red Bull Racing in terms of circuit layout and aerodynamics. Verstappen’s strengths at this circuit are not just his driving style that suits the circuit, but also the unpredictable weather conditions which have, in the past, put him in a class of his own.

Having claimed two podiums and a win at the Interlagos circuit, the Dutchman will be looking forward to the 2021 Brazilian GP scheduled for the weekend of November 12-14, 2021.