Max Verstappen and Red Bull have expressed their displeasure after the four-time world champion was penalized for driving unnecessarily slowly during the qualifying session, during a break-up lap, hampering George Russell, also on a warm-up lap.
Despite this sanction, Max Verstappen responded in the best possible way by winning brilliantly at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver beat Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
In his lap of honor, the Batavian driver's engineer mischievously declared on the team radio:
“OK buddy, karma is a wonderful thing. You certainly didn't drive too slowly today, it's a good jobt”.
For his part, Christian Horner added this: “Absolutely remarkable, your ninth victory of the year. This is a real feat. Well done, buddy.”
Read also: F1 rankings after the 2024 Qatar GP; Ferrari still in the match
Verstappen found the key in Qatar
Max Verstappen, for his part, expressed his satisfaction, after starting the race weekend in pain and uncertainty.
“It was a very good race”, he declared after the checkered flag. “Already yesterday, during qualifying, the car was much better. And today the first stint was very, very fast.”
“Lando and I stayed within 1.8 seconds of each other the entire race and honestly it was a lot of fun. This track has a lot of grip, and this year the tires are holding really well, so it was really fun pushing the tire. So it was a lot of fun pushing the tires hard. Of course there were a few moments under the safety car where we had to be careful, but we are very happy.”
“It took some time in the dry to be this competitive, and I'm very proud of everyone on the team who managed to turn things around in one day, so they deserve this victory.”
Despite this new victory, Red Bull sees the constructors' title slipping away from it. It will be contested by McLaren and Ferrari during the last Grand Prix of the season, in Abu Dhabi.
Read also: Results of the 2024 F1 Qatar Grand Prix
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