Max Verstappen Opens Up About Emotional Outburst After Brazil Qualifying
F1
The 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix was a proper emotional rollercoaster for Max Verstappen, who revealed how he wanted to "destroy" his room.
The Dutch driver was in a close championship battle with Lando Norris. Arriving at the Interlagos Circuit in Brazil, Verstappen held "only" a 47-point lead after previously leading the British driver by almost 100 points.
With predicted rain in Brazil, Verstappen knew that McLaren's speed advantage might be erased and that the weekend might provide him with a great opportunity to secure valuable points in the championship battle.
However, the 27-year-old Dutch driver had to go through a proper emotional rollercoaster during that weekend. He finished fourth in the Sprint race (after a five-second penalty), showing promising pace.
But the real disaster came during the qualifying. Yellow and subsequent red flags ended Verstappen's hopes of qualifying close to the pole position, as he was eliminated in Q2, finishing 12th. After a five-place grid penalty, he started from P17.
Verstappen was furious. His statements reflected that, and what was happening behind the scenes did, too. In a recent episode of the Talking Bulls podcast, the four-time World Champion explained how furious he was.
"A lot went through my mind because of course, I was very upset with qualifying. Almost, well, actually, I wanted to destroy my room, but then I walked into my room and my dad was sitting there."
Surprisingly, it was Max's dad, Jos Verstappen, who calmed him. Jos is also known as a hothead, but at that moment, he had a calming influence on his son.
"He was the calm one. He was very calm. I was so angry, and then I see him so calm, that actually calmed me down."
Ultimately, that weekend proved to be decisive in the World Championship battle. Sensationally, Verstappen won the race despite starting from P17 with what was one of the greatest drives in Formula One history.
Thanks to that race, it became almost impossible for Norris to claim his first F1 World Drivers' Championship title, even though it looked like he would come closer to his dream after starting from the pole position.
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