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Max Verstappen was overjoyed to be able to kickstart his and Red Bull's 2022 F1 season after winning the Saudi Arabian GP this weekend.
The Dutchman put last week's disappointment from the Bahrain GP behind him to storm to victory ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a close-fought battle.
After the race, Max Verstappen shared his thoughts with former F1 driver-turned-television pundit David Coulthard. The 24-year-old said:
“It was a really tough but really good race. We were battling hard in the front and we just had to play the long game. They were quick through the corners, were quicker in the straights and the tires were wearing out quite quickly around here. So, you could see at the end, we had a little bit more pace so I just tried to get by. It wasn’t easy, playing smart tricks in the last corner but eventually we managed to get ahead, but even after that, they were constantly in the DRS and with the yellow flags on the last lap, just knowing how much you should lift, whether it is allowed or not... It was tough but really happy that we finally kickstarted the season.”
"It's a lot harder to plan your pass" - Max Verstappen on setting up his overtake on Charles Leclerc in Jeddah
During the aforementioned interview with David Coulthard, Max Verstappen also gave fans an insight into how the new regulations have changed the way he races.
The defending world champion once again went into battle with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and, unlike Bahrain, emerged on top this time around.
When describing how he set up the overtake that would help him clinch P1, Max Verstappen said:
“Yeah, it seems like, once you get quite close... because I think the cars, when you get within half a second, you actually can have a good exit. And I think that makes it a lot more trickier to do the pass in the last corner compared to last year. So, it’s a lot harder to plan your passes.”
The Dutchman earned 25 points for his P1 finish after starting fourth on the grid. Teammate Sergio Perez dropped to P4 having started on pole after an inopportune pitstop.
