Max Verstappen has recently faced challenges in extracting maximum performance from his car, often falling behind his rivals in terms of pace. This struggle led to a dip in his confidence, as he couldn’t dominate the track as he was used to. Despite his proven abilities, the car’s limitations affected his performance, making it a tough period for the reigning champion.

However, the Brazilian GP win showed that Verstappen’s championship fight is alive. The Milton Keynes-based team faced a massive performance slump in 2024 which was not expected after their early dominance. Sergio Perez was the first victim to encounter the car’s issues and even Max Verstappen, after a point, was also in the same boat.

It had been ten races since the Dutchman’s last win, his longest drought since 2020. But in Sao Paulo, he returned to the top of the podium for the first time since the Spanish GP in June. The three-time world champion was happy to have broken the drought at Interlagos.

Of course, it was important. I wanted to, of course, win a bit sooner. It’s been tough for us.

We always kept pushing. We didn’t really understand why the others were so fast in the race, especially. We’ve been trying a lot of things to improve the car.

And starting P17 this morning, it didn’t look like we were going to win the race again. Max Verstappen saod (via GPblog. com)Verstappen and Red Bull stayed optimistic, believing their performance would return.

They knew success wouldn’t come easily, but their determination kept them pushing forward. Despite the challenges and tough qualifying sessions, things turned in their favor in the main race in Brazil. It’s an incredible result for us.

A massive boost for the team because, honestly, it’s been tough. But it is also a big strength of the team to stay calm and just try to work on performance and try to improve our situation. And I’m confident.

I’m confident for the last three races that we can fight again. Max Verstappen addedRELATEDMax Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen SLAMS FIA’s selection of ex-F1 drivers as stewards after Johnny Herbert fiascoMax Verstappen expressed feeling ‘motivated’ ahead of the Brazilian GPMax Verstappen approached the Brazilian GP with a clear focus and a high level of motivation despite starting from P17. He was aware that the wet conditions could level the playing field, creating unexpected opportunities.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)As he steadily climbed through the field, he seized moments of clear track to set blistering lap times. In the first lap, the Dutchman overtook six cars ahead of him. RB20’s exceptional power, combined with the three-time world champion’s skill, played a major role in his victory.

I was just very motivated to get a good race and just let the race pan out and see what happens. Because in the wet race, always some crazy things can happen. I was passing a few cars and I had always one lap or two laps of free air, and I was always the fastest on the track.

I knew that, okay we are quick. Max Verstappen explainedRELATEDEx-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone hits out at FIA’s ‘madness’ over driver penaltiesVerstappen also stated that his childhood experiences of karting in the rain helped him. His Brazilian GP victory has almost ended Lando Norris‘ title hopes, as he sits 62 points behind the Dutchman with three races and one sprint left in the season.