AUSTIN, Oct 24: Max Verstappen and Red Bull started the United States Grand Prix determined to honour the memory of founder and team owner Dietrich Mateschitz and the racing powerhouse he built.
Driver and team delivered, overcoming self-inflicted race drama to chase down Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton to win Sunday. “I think this is a race he would have loved to see,” Verstappen said of the victory a day after the team announced Mateschitz, the co-founder of the Red Bull energy drinks global empire, had died at age 78.
Verstappen’s race was nearly undone when a rare slow pit stop – 11 seconds lost to a tricky change of the front left tire – dropped him out of the lead and well behind Hamilton.
He then chased down last season’s championship rival and passed him on lap 50 of 56. Verstappen had to hold off the pestering Hamilton through the final laps, and both drivers were warned not to exceed track limits that would draw a penalty. (AP)
