Max Verstappen says he needs rivals to retire to win Mexico GP after qualifying fifth, admitting his Red Bull lacks pace for title fight recovery.
MAX Verstappen says he will need rivals to retire if he is to keep his Formula One title hopes alive in Sunday’s Mexico Grand Prix.
The four-time champion qualified fifth for Red Bull behind McLaren’s pole-sitter Lando Norris, both Ferraris and Mercedes driver George Russell.
He described his Saturday as a difficult and frustrating day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“Every lap that I have done this weekend has not been good,” Verstappen said.
“Short run, long run, it never felt in the window and that is not going to suddenly change for the better tomorrow.”
The Dutch driver dismissed suggestions of a recovery drive given his car’s performance issues.
“There is no real recovery drive when you have no pace,” he explained.
“I need people to retire in front of me if I am to get ahead.”
Verstappen confirmed his team had attempted multiple solutions without success.
“If we knew what was wrong we could change it but unfortunately we don’t and we have tried so many things,” he said.
The reigning champion recognised the problem from the start of qualifying.
“I knew from the start of Q1 that in my first run it was not going to be it today,” Verstappen added.
Despite his recent surge, Verstappen trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 40 points.
He has narrowed a 104-point deficit since August with three wins and two second-place finishes.
The Red Bull driver knows he must maintain his near-perfect results to claim an unexpected fifth title. – AFP
