Verstappen on tyre management: 'Was never under pressure'

Max Verstappen's tyre strategy proved to be the right one in Mexico. In the FIA press conference after the race, the Dutchman explained why Red Bull chose to change Lewis Hamilton's strategy and why it proved to work so well.

Verstappen did not have much to fear at the Mexican Grand Prix. In the beginning of the race, Lewis Hamilton still seemed to be able to keep up nicely, but after the first round of pit stops, Verstappen managed to extend his lead to such an extent that it was abundantly clear he would not be overtaken on track. The big question then became who had the right tyre strategy, Red Bull or Mercedes?

Medium or hard compound?

Mercedes seemed to expect that the medium tyre would not last until the end. Both Hamilton and George Russell were put on the hard tyre, and Hamilton was regularly told over the radio that the medium could give way at any moment. Verstappen proved that was not the case, however, and teammate Sergio Perez was also able to finish the race on the yellow tyre without too much trouble. Reflecting on the strategy, Verstappen explained that the tyre choice was largely decided during the race.

"It was more like we will see how the deg is going to be throughout the race," Verstappen explained. "That's why we chose to start on the soft and the tyre was holding on surprisingly well, let's say like that, until four or five laps to the end of that stint. But I never really felt like I was under pressure, I was just managing my tyres to get through that number of laps. And then it was still a question mark, of course, when I went onto the medium to see how long they were going to last but within a few laps, it felt really good."

The hard compound was never an option for Red Bull, Verstappen explained. During the first practice session, it was already clear that that tyre did not work well for Verstappen's car, so it was not on the schedule either.