Verstappen on Abu Dhabi start: "That wasn't meant to happen"

Max Verstappen looked unlikely to win for much of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes excelled at top speed, yet it was Verstappen who, along with Red Bull Racing, was on top of the strategy, allowing the Dutchman to strike on the final lap.

In conversation with Olav Mol, on behalf of Ziggo Sport, Verstappen talks about the start of the race, which for him was anything but flawless. "It wasn't meant to happen," the Red Bull driver observes when looking back at the on-board footage.

"It was just a really bad start. Really dramatically bad," he continues. Not only did he suffer from wheelspin, but his reaction time also seemed a little less sharp than usual. "My engineer also said I had a slow reaction. Maybe I was a bit nervous," the world champion acknowledges.

Despite his poor start, Verstappen looked set to regain the lead at the first corner. Hamilton left the track, allowing him to get back in front of his rival. Verstappen, however, can't understand the decision of the race committee not to investigate that moment further.

"I thought it was a good overtake, I stayed on the track as well. I just didn't quite understand what happened next. He had a big lead and didn't give the position back either," said Verstappen.