Max Verstappen “lost 12 hours of my life I’ll never get back” with Brazil GP penalty
Max Verstappen explains why he was not able to enjoy a wet qualifying session in Brazil.
Max Verstappen says he has “lost 12 hours of my life I’ll never get back” because of his back-of-the-grid Formula 1 penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Four-time world champion Verstappen is due to start from 21st on the grid in Brazil after Red Bull fitted his RB22 car with an entirely-new power unit.
Verstappen still took part in a rain-soaked and heavily-delayed qualifying at Interlagos and reached Q2 before opting to sit out of the session in order to save wet tyres, with rain also forecast for Sunday.
Qualifying was delayed by over an hour after torrential rain hit, causing Q1 to be red-flagged almost immediately. Verstappen revealed he spent his time watching Premier League football.
"Nottingham Forest-Manchester City was the last one before I got into the car. It was 3-1, I actually saw a great goal just before I got back in,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport.com in Brazil.
"But I'm starting last anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I’ve lost 12 hours of my life today that I’ll never get back.”
Asked if he was able to enjoy himself at all during qualifying, the Dutchman replied: "Not really, because I'm not fighting for anything.
“My mind is already set on tomorrow, so it was just about doing a lap, not risking anything. Every lap that I did, we were up there, but for me that's not a surprise.”
And Verstappen, who starts one place behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, is not expecting to be able to replicate his incredible charge through the field from 17th to victory in Sao Paulo in 2024.
"It was [possible to fight back] in the past, but now we don't have DRS anymore. And the overtake mode is very limiting around here, because of the long straight,” he explained.
"Everyone is draining the battery, so your speed difference on the straight is going to be a lot less. It will be a bit like Mexico really, so it will be quite a lot harder to pass than normal.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris starts Sunday’s 71-lap race from pole position, with newly-crowned world champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli alongside him on the front row for Mercedes.
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