Max Verstappen revealed that a mistake in the starting procedure made the start of his recovery race at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula 1 this Sunday more difficult. Despite starting from 21st on the grid, the Dutch driver managed to finish in second place.
Verstappen explained that he lost time right as the starting lights went out, because he was holding the clutch in the wrong way. The issue compromised his initial reaction and prevented a quicker climb toward the front positions.
“To be honest, I had a very slow reaction time at the start because I was holding the clutch the wrong way. So I had to react very quickly and ended up launching slowly. It was my mistake,” he admitted.
After the start, however, Verstappen still faced another obstacle in the opening corners. According to him, the traffic ahead made overtaking difficult and slowed his progress through the pack.
“I also had a bit of bad luck in the first three corners, because it looked like a traffic jam, with three or four cars ahead of me basically blocking how much I could overtake,” he said.
Lewis Hamilton managed to advance more quickly at the start of the race, something Verstappen acknowledged when commenting on his rival’s performance: “Lewis had a very good first lap, he really managed to pass by those cars. I was a little disappointed not to be able to move forward in the same way,” he added.
The situation changed when Verstappen found pace and began to reclaim positions rapidly. The Dutch driver said his car had more grip than most of the rivals in the midfield.
“Then, in two laps, I was simply passing the cars basically in every corner. We had a lot more grip, I think, than most in the midfield. I don’t know on which lap I entered the top-10, but everything happened very quickly,” he concluded.
