Max Verstappen believes backing off made him a stronger Formula 1 driver in 2018, following his wretched start to the campaign.
Verstappen suffered a series of accidents and clashes through the opening six Grands Prix that raised questions over his approach, though the Dutchman insisted he would not change.
Verstappen bounced back and has since surged up to fifth in the standings, just 20 points behind third-placed Kimi Raikkonen, having dominated in Mexico for his second win of the year.
Mexican Grand Prix: Race Report | Championship Standings | Hamilton Feature
“I do my own thing, even if there are a lot of things written, I really don’t care,” said Red Bull driver Verstappen.
“My dad always told me in go-karting, back in the day, if I was maybe overdriving or something, he would always tell me “Max, even if you think you are not going fast enough, it’s still fast enough”.
“So basically, for my feeling, I just backed it out a little bit and that seems to make me a bit faster.”
Verstappen’s victory was his second on the bounce in Mexico as he took the lead as the start and completed a two-stop strategy thereafter, building a sizeable advantage.
“I didn’t sleep much [on Saturday] and found the race build up a long one, but after the lights went out my feelings soon changed,” he said.
“Once ahead I could just settle in and concentrate on my own race, especially as Lewis [Hamilton] looked to be struggling with grip. I made sure I matched his lap times to maintain the lead.
“We got the strategy spot on again, having another set of Supersofts meant I was able to manage the wear knowing I had a fresh set to go onto towards the end of the race.
“So when Seb [Vettel] pitted we did the same and were able to keep the gap.
“When I saw Daniel [Ricciardo] pull over I asked the team if they should turn my engine down as I already had such an advantage, I wanted to be sure we made it to the chequered flag.”
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