Max Verstappen's race engineer GianPiero Lambiase reflected on how he felt as the Dutch driver secured his fourth title in the last season after accepting an award on the drivers' behalf. Based of the voting by fans, Autosport magazine awarded Verstappen's win in Sao Paulo as the Moment of the Year.
What did GianPiero Lambiase say about Max Verstappen?
Speaking at the ceremony, Lambiase shared how difficult the conditions were that day for Verstappen after a qualifying session that saw the Dutch driver fail to make it past Q2. After availing an extra internal combustion engine, Verstappen saw himself at P17 on the grid. But, he started the race at P15 as Lance Stroll and Alex Albon missed the start.
Starting from the 15th spot and on top of it, dealing with the rain and a red flag, Verstappen saw it all before clinching the victory. Lambiase was delighted after the race as he highlighted Verstappen's mindset before the race.
This race came at a time of the year when we were having to work extremely hard for everything we could manage come chequered flag. I don’t think Max had won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix earlier that summer and to say he was slightly aggrieved with the outcome of qualifying on a Sunday morning is an understatement. For him to pull out a drive such as that, under such scrutiny, pressure, and with the championship at stake was really quite remarkable. So, yeah I’m really proud of him for that, Lambiase said.
The win at the Brazil Grand Prix was one of the nine victories that Verstappen got in 2024. He also reached the number 63 in terms of total wins in the sport. He also won his fourth consecutive Formula 1 title last year.
Max Verstappen reflects at the Brazil Grand Prix
Speaking after winning the Brazil Grand Prix, Verstappen shared what was key to a successful finish. He also acknowledged the team's decisions as well as temperament for the win.
My emotions today have been a rollercoaster. You know, with qualifying, being really unlucky with that red flag and starting P17, I knew that it was going to be a very tough race. But we stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were fine. All of these things together of course made that result possible. I mean, unbelievable to win here from so far back.
Max Verstappen will return to the track on February 25 at the team's filming day where he will drive the new RB21 challenger in Sakhir, Bahrain.