Red Bull’s runaway Formula One leader Max Verstappen credited a rare defeat for setting in motion his record-equaling run of nine wins in a row.
The Dutch driver, victorious for the third year in a row at his home race on Sunday, said the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku in April was key to his subsequent success.
He finished second then to Mexican teammate Sergio Perez, the last time he has stood lower than the top step of the podium.
Photo: EPA-EFE
From Miami in May he has been on another level to his rivals, and on Sunday he moved 138 points clear of Perez with nine races remaining.
“I think I learned a lot from the race in Baku how to do some things with the car, how to set it up,” Verstappen told reporters at Zandvoort.
“Of course I didn’t win that race in Baku, but I actually really tried a lot of stuff and different tools in the car and that’s why throughout the race it was a little bit inconsistent, but at one point I got into a good rhythm with what I found,” he said.
“Then I damaged my tires a bit too much, but I was like: ‘OK, that’s quite interesting for the next races,’ and I basically implemented that and it has helped me on every track,” Verstappen said.
Sunday’s win was possibly the hardest so far, with torrential rain throwing up potential dangers and the race halted and restarted after a long delay with seven laps remaining.
The only other driver to win nine races in a single season was four times world champion Sebastian Vettel, also with Red Bull in 2013.
“It was probably one of the more difficult races to win, but nine in a row is something I never even thought about,” Verstappen said. “I’m very happy with that, but I’m in general very happy to win here in front of my home crowd.”
Red Bull team principle Christian Horner, whose team have won 14 races in a row and look increasingly like becoming the first to go through a season unbeaten, said it was an astonishing achievement.
“To win nine in a row is insane. And [for Red Bull] to have done it in the same team with another driver is something that I don’t think any of us could have ever envisaged,” he said.
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