Verstappen: It was nice to win in the dry

Verstappen won in Sao Paulo after a dry spell since his win in the Spanish Grand Prix, but it was in a wet race where the four-time Formula 1 champion outclassed all his peers to take a dominant win from 17th on the grid.

In Qatar, Red Bull struggled to get their car in the proper operating window, evident from Verstappen's sixth place in the Sprint qualifying and his eighth place in the Sprint race.

But with the rules allowing car changes between the Sprint and the Grand Prix qualifying, Red Bull changed quite a lot on their RB20, and Verstappen duly delivered pole but was stripped of it after a penalty for driving too slowly on his outlap, handing George Russell pole.

But an angry Max is a dangerous one, and thus the Dutchman made short work of Russell to take the lead on the opening lap while simultaneously fending off a brief attack from McLaren's Lando Norris, who kept chasing until he dropped back due to a penalty for ignoring Yellow flags.

Reflecting on his ninth win in 2024, Verstappen said: "I enjoyed the race quite a lot overall, especially at the beginning with Lando and I pushing each other quite hard.

"We were leading by turn 1 after starting P2, and were able to maximise and get the tyres in the right window. The car felt much better and I enjoyed it a lot out there today. It was nice to win in the dry as well, it has been quite a few races since we've achieved that.

"It was definitely not a boring race," Verstappen pointed out, "and there was a lot to manage with the restarts and safety cars throughout, but we learned from that and were able to stay in front. I am very proud to win here in Qatar, and proud of the Team for our performances this weekend, it is a great track and one of my favourites on the calendar.

"We have to make sure we nail our setup in Abu Dhabi and to hopefully finish the season with another great race," the Red Bull ace concluded.

In the other Red Bull RB20, Perez was having a decent race until he spun after the Safety car restart and lost drive, ultimately retiring from the race.

He commented: "Things were looking good at the time for me, I was sitting in P5 and we were in the mix for the podium.

"Then as I was warming up the tyre, getting ready for the restart, I had a massive over delivery as I was picking up the throttle out of turn 12. With cold tyres I couldn't control it, it basically meant I lost the car and then lost drive from that point onwards.

"It is quite disappointing to end up like this," the Mexican lamented. "There were some positive signs for me this weekend with performance and I think we have learnt a lot from the car this weekend and found good direction.

"I think the season hasn't been great for me, there has been a lot of up and downs and we have a few things to review there.

"We are all in this together as a Team and we are trying to get our season back on track, hopefully Abu Dhabi can do that and we can have a strong weekend," Perez concluded.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner hailed another phenomenal drive from Verstappen; he said: "That was another masterclass from Max.

"He was focused and in control throughout the race, his management of the tyres in that first stint was exceptional.

"I think the Team did a wonderful job in turning around and delivering a car that Max could really put his stamp on," the Briton added, crediting the job done by the Red Bull Racing staff.

"It was a shame to lose out on Pole but if anything it gave Max more determination and motivation to lead into turn 1, it was an unbelievable performance by Max and the Team.

"Full credit to the engineering staff for making some big decisions and unlocking the potential of the car here, it meant Max had Lando covered throughout the race.

"It was a little bit crazy here with the punctures but the Team reacted and dealt with everything that came their way, the crew and everybody did a super job," Horner concluded.

Despite Verstappen's win, Red Bull will not be able to defend their F1 constructors' crown with one race left in Abu Dhabi, as they are now 59 points behind leaders McLaren.