Verstappen jokes "staying awake" was his hardest task in Turkish GP

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15:59, 10 Oct 2021

Max Verstappen finished the Turkish Grand Prix in second place and with that the Dutchman is satisfied. Valtteri Bottas was simply too fast in his Mercedes and so Verstappen has maximized in his own opinion.

"It wasn't easy today, there was little grip on the asphalt," Verstappen told David Coulthard in an initial reaction on the grid. "We had to manage the tyre the whole race. It seemed like Valtteri had a bit more pace and could look after the tyres a bit better as well. However, I am still happy to finish second because in these conditions you could make mistakes."

What was the trickiest phase of the race at Istanbul Park? "Staying awake," jokes the new World Championship leader. "It was all about tyre management. You could only push in the last laps before the pit stop, but I'm happy with the podium."

Red Bull in Austin

Verstappen is also looking ahead to the next Grand Prix. This will take place in the United States in two weeks. "It's been close [with Mercedes] all year. I think it's been very close the whole year. In Austin, it will be a good battle with Mercedes. We need to keep pushing to improve," added

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	131
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	72
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	48
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	20
9	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	16
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	14
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
14	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	5
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0

Verstappen jokes "staying awake" was his hardest task in Turkish GP

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