Max Verstappen Brazil Grand Prix podium, Digi Mart USA News (São Paulo, Brazil): Max Verstappen finished second in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite not being fully satisfied with how the race unfolded. He attributed his mixed feelings to the poor handling of his Red Bull, which changed behavior during the race.
“The first stint went really well, but as soon as I switched to the dry-weather tires I got extreme oversteer in the high-speed corners,” Verstappen said at a post-race press conference. “That made the car really difficult to drive.
We need to check whether a part has broken, because this didn’t feel normal.”
Verstappen said he believed he could have won had the Red Bull not suffered these problems. “I know there was more in the car.
But in the end it is nice to finish second with a car that wasn’t working optimally.”
Verstappen started from 21st place after changing several engine components, which meant he faced a recovery race. His start was far from ideal.
“I reacted very slowly at the start because I didn’t hold the clutch properly; that was my own mistake,” he said.
He then encountered trouble in the first three corners. “It was like a traffic jam.
Three or four cars in front of me completely blocked me, so I couldn’t overtake.”
Verstappen found his rhythm quickly. “After just two laps I was passing the other cars, almost in every corner.
We apparently had much more grip than most of the others in midfield. I don’t know exactly which lap I entered the top ten, but it all went very fast.”
Verstappen said he enjoys the São Paulo circuit, where he also made notable overtaking moves in 2016, 2024 and 2025. “This circuit has always been good to me in the past.
Ever since I started racing here, I like coming here. Sometimes everything fits together more naturally here than at other circuits.”
The next race is in two weeks on the street circuit in Las Vegas, where Verstappen could claim his ninth consecutive podium finish. He said he is unsure what to expect from that weekend.
“Las Vegas is so different for everyone and hard to understand. The problem is that it is so cold there, so cars behave very differently.
Some cars suddenly perform extremely well on a circuit like that; we have seen that before.”
Verstappen has had mixed results in Las Vegas, winning in 2023 and 2025 but finishing fifth in 2024. “This is usually not our strongest circuit, but we will see whether we can get the tires working there.
Honestly, that is the key to success.”
