F1 star Max Verstappen in São Paulo: watching football instead of putting his foot down

It was clear that qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix would be delayed, as weather forecasters had predicted bad weather days before the session. Sure enough, just as Q1 was due to start

Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen passed the time by watching football. The Dutchman revealed: “I was watching football on the telly – the Premier League.” And when asked, he added: “There were lots of different matches, but the game between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City was the last one I watched before getting into the car. The score was 3–1, and I actually caught a brilliant goal just before getting in.”

The four-time champion will have to start the race from the back of the grid due to the use of a new power unit. That’s why he only took to the track in Q1. This allowed him to save his intermediates and wet tyres in case the race also takes place in difficult conditions.

Max Verstappen: Focused on the race

Verstappen has proven time and again just how good he is on a wet track at Interlagos. Nevertheless, he didn’t dwell on missing out on the qualifying session, as he insisted afterwards: “Not really, because if you’re not fighting for anything, then I’d rather stay in the pits. I know I’ll have to drop back on the grid. It would be a different story if I didn’t have to serve a penalty. But as it is, I’m already fully focused on the race. It was just a matter of doing a lap and not taking any risks. And on every lap I did, I was right in the zone.”

Before he was eliminated after Q1, Verstappen had set one fastest time after another on the wet track. At the end of the first qualifying session, he was third fastest behind the eventual pole-setter Lando Norris and Mercedes veteran George Russell.

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Plenty of safety car periods on the wish list

The 74-time Grand Prix winner isn’t expecting an easy ride in the race: “In the past, it was easy to fight your way back up the field, but now we no longer have DRS. And the overtaking mode isn’t as effective on this circuit, with its long straight, as it is on other tracks. That’s because everyone is draining their battery, so the difference in pace on the straight is much smaller. It’ll probably be a bit like in Mexico, so I think overtaking will be trickier.”

When asked what he’d need in the race to secure victory, Verstappen replied: “Lots of safety car periods, so the lads at the front can’t pull away. We’ll see. To be honest, I don’t think about it that much. I’ll just see what happens on the first lap and then see how it all turns out in the end.”