Max Verstappen jokes about 2025 F1 Mexican GP start: “I’d rate it 10 out of 10”. Max Verstappen secures third place in a chaotic Mexican GP.

After a slightly underwhelming weekend, Max Verstappen managed an impressive comeback to finish third in the chaotic Mexican Grand Prix. Despite the difficulties he faced over the weekend, he returned to podium contention right from the start of the race. The start itself was extremely chaotic, and the following four laps were full of surprises.

Starting from fifth, the Dutch driver surged to third, but with the two Ferraris fighting for second, he had to cut the first corners and rejoined the track behind Lewis Hamilton. Further ahead, Verstappen closed in on Ferrari No. 44, attempting an overtake. The battle between the two cars caused small errors from both drivers, but only the seven-time world champion received a penalty.

Eventually, Max Verstappen passed Hamilton and, after the pit stop, pursued Charles Leclerc. In the final two to three laps, the two drivers fought for position. Ultimately, a Virtual Safety Car interrupted the action, allowing Charles Leclerc to finish second. Nevertheless, via team radio at the end of the GP, Max Verstappen expressed satisfaction with his race management and the result.

Verstappen’s comments

The first question, naturally, concerned the chaotic start of the Mexican GP, where Max Verstappen nearly hit the wall after going off track.

“Well, I’d rate it 10 out of 10,” he said jokingly. “There was a lot of action, we had a good launch. Then I went very wide into turn 1 and went off track. I had to go a bit wide and ended up on the grass. It happens.”

Despite the tricky start, he still made it to the podium in a difficult race. During the 71 laps in Mexico City, he had to do a lot of lift-and-coast, and the first stint on medium tyres didn’t help, but the strategy ultimately paid off.

“Yes, the strategy was very good. The issue, of course, was the first stint. The tyres had very little grip, while on the softs we simply had more adhesion,” Max Verstappen explained.

He added, “After that, everything went fairly well, but we were all in the same boat in that regard. I tried to get the most out of the first stint and go long. But it’s quite clear that with the soft tyres we had slightly more pace.”

“Sure, not enough to beat the McLaren, but we were faster than the others,” concluded the four-time world champion.