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Verstappen was furious after Brazil qualifying: 'Wanted to destroy my room'
The Sao Paulo GP was a rollercoaster of a weekend for Max Verstappen. With qualifying and the race both on Sunday, the Dutchman could experience the highest of highs after the lowest of lows. Verstappen reflected on his statement victory in the Talking Bulls podcast.
During Qualifying, Max Verstappen was knocked out in Q2, after the red flag was waved late according to the Dutchman. Moreover, a grid penalty also awaited him. "A lot went through my mind because of course, I was very upset with qualifying. Almost, well, actually, I wanted to destroy my room, but then I walked into my room and my dad was sitting there," the Dutchman told the Talking Bulls podcast.
His father's, Jos Verstappen's presence in the room helped the four-time world champion calm down in that heated moment, he explained. "He was the calm one. He was very calm. I was so angry, and then I see him so calm, that actually calmed me down."
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At first, the Brazilian Grand Prix looked set to be a particularly bad weekend for the Dutchman in terms of championship. The driver also felt his team had the same fear of Lando Norris managing to cut the gap considerably ahead of the race.
"When I think back about the day, I could really feel also in the office, when we were preparing for the race, because everything happened on the same day. Yes, it was a lot of sad faces, I would say, because you're starting P17, your main rival is starting first. So, it could be a massive point swing, and we couldn't really use that at that point of the championship. So everyone was quite nervous," Verstappen explained.
However, after getting in the car, Verstappen said he really enjoyed the rainy track. "It was a wet day. I jumped in the car and I was like, of course I like the conditions. I like to drive in the wet. But you never know what will happen or can happen, because at the same time, you might be taken out or you spin off the track yourself because it's very difficult. But then as soon as the race got underway, yes, it was good. Yes, it was nice. I enjoyed it a lot. I felt good with the car. And, yes, step by step, we're driving to the front again."
After the race in Brazil, Verstappen knew his fourth championship was in the bag. "I was relieved. Yes, I knew as soon as I won that race and the outcome in general, I was like, that's it," the Red Bull driver concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden
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