After the competition, the Dutchman commented: “It has been a hard and crazy race. I had a lot of fun fighting Charles once more, I enjoyed it a lot and it’s not easy to pass it, patience is always the key, especially if you want to fight for the Championship.
At the beginning it was quite difficult to follow but I think once we switched to the hard tire we were able to push harder and the pace was better. We have played the long game with the tyres, which has paid off.
Towards the end of the race it felt like we were doing a lot of qualifying laps, which was intense but really cool. In the end, we were able to win and we can be very proud of it as a team,” said the reigning F1 champion.
The two duels with Charles Leclerc at the opening of the championship provide exciting duels. And if we add to this an eventual recovery of Mercedes, especially with Lewis Hamilton, there will be battles to rent a balcony.
After two valid races, Max Verstappen occupies third position in the championship with 25 points, 20 less than the provisional leader, Charles Leclerc.
The next challenge in F1 is next weekend, from April 8 to 10 at the Australian GP.