Verstappen is not taking anything for granted in Mexico

As he prepares for the Mexican Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver believes the difference between winning and losing will come down to “details.”

Max Verstappen has played down Red Bull’s prospects of winning the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, stating that the margins are tight and that “details” will determine a winner.

Verstappen, who leads Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship by 12 points, won by a narrow margin in Austin last time out to end a three-race winless streak.

Due to the characteristics of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which has suited their car in recent years, Verstappen expects Red Bull will need to “nail” their setup again, even if they are strong favourites to win.

“It’s all about details,” Verstappen told media. “You can look good on paper, but you still have to nail your setup and all of the combinations around it.

“So it might look good for us, but we have to, again, be on it from FP1 onwards, and make sure that we go in the right direction with the car.

“I want to score the most points available every single weekend.”

Explaining his Austin strategy call

Verstappen instructed Red Bull pit colleague Sergio Perez to compel Hamilton to make his first pit stop at the US GP so that the Mercedes driver would not have a long opening stint.

Following the first round of pit stops, Perez pitted soon after the radio call, and Verstappen retook the lead from Hamilton.

Verstappen was questioned if he anticipated several scenarios before the race or discussed alternative strategic options with the team.

“For me, it was just a logical thing to think about,” said Verstappen. “So you just don’t want them [Mercedes] to have a massive tyre advantage and we had two cars up there, so [we] should use that advantage.”

Several masks inspired by NASCAR racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price: