Max Verstappen is ‘very pleased’ with fourth place in the final race of the championship at Yas Marina.
A poor getaway from the line saw Verstappen fall into the grips of Nico Hulkenberg. The two touched, which sent Verstappen into a spin. The Red Bull was lucky to avoid contact with other cars or walls as he simply lost places dropping to the back of the field.
“I think Nico had a very good start,” Verstappen said after the race. “I think he didn’t expect me to be half alongside, so he basically made the corner and for me, there was nowhere to go, but I think it was a bit of a racing incident.”
Mixing up the Dutchman’s race strategy kept Verstappen in the fight at the front of the pack, but he still had to fight his way through the field and we were once again treated to an overtaking masterclass from the Red Bull driver.
“I’m very pleased. I mean, after being last after Turn 1, to fight your way back and just get one stop, it was the best we could do.”
In a game of strategy for all the teams at the front of the field, Red Bull started by having Verstappen back Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen into Daniel Ricciardo.
The three other drivers would pit and emerge behind Verstappen, who had switched to a one-stop strategy after the spin. That would allow Ricciardo, who was still running the conventional strategy, a better chance at the podium.
Rosberg managed to get by Verstappen just before the teenager came into the pits for his one and only stop. On paper, it was the slower strategy, but mixing things up was the only thing Red Bull could do to keep the 19-year-old in the mix. It worked and he was able to keep third until the closing stages of the race when a late-stopping Sebastian Vettel found his way past.
“It’s quite normal that people who do two stops know that they have better tyres and so normally they can attack you a bit more,” he added. “That’s what happened compared to Seb, [but] I think it was a very good race.”
It was a fitting final race of the season, for Verstappen. The teenager was able to show off his talent in a way he wouldn’t have been able to if everything had gone to plan, and the battle against Vettel ended a season-long rivalry. Verstappen finished the season only eight points behind Vettel in the championship.
