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Max Verstappen was not optimistic about his chances for the majority of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Dutchman has revealed.
In an exclusive in-depth interview with carnext.com, the 2021 F1 world champion fielded questions from former F1 driver David Coulthard about the thrilling end to this season.
Speaking to Coulthard in the presence of his father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, Max was asked what his mindset was like after losing the lead to Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He said:
"Well, I mean, of course, it didn't look great throughout the whole race. They were clearly faster. But I just said to myself 'It doesn't matter. I'm just going to push regardless and I'm not going to give them a big gap' and basically at the end of the day, because of that they never had a free stop."
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The 24-year-old further added:
"And that always gave us the opportunity to put on new tires and different tires and also at the end, I was on the soft (tires). He was still on his old hard tires."
Max Verstappen started the race on the softest tire compound available while Lewis Hamilton started on the yellow-wall medium tires. But it was Hamilton who was quickest off the line, snatching the lead from Verstappen going into Turn 1.
Verstappen did seem to have a lunge executed successfully on the first lap on Turn 6 but Hamilton went into the run-off area and was somehow able to keep his position.
Max Verstappen hails teammate Sergio Perez for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix win
Max Verstappen was full of praise for his teammate Sergio Perez's driving ability and support throughout the season.
The Mexican's defensive drive to slow down Lewis Hamilton was one of the highlights of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was also pivotal in clinching the drivers' world championship in Verstappen's favor.
The Dutchman was quick to laud Perez for his help during the race on the radio, calling him an 'absolute legend'. After the race, he said:
“I think without Checo (Sergio Perez) I wouldn’t be sitting here right now because then they would have had a pit gap with the Safety Car and stuff so definitely Checo was driving incredibly today,”
Max Verstappen hopes to bring more success to Red Bull with the Mexican as his wingman for the 2022 season.
