Verstappen hails 'strong' Red Bull performance as record extended

Max Verstappen has highlighted the two key factors behind his São Paulo Grand Prix victory.

The Dutchman controlled proceedings from the front after an early onslaught from McLaren's Lando Norris to eventually secure an easy 17th victory of the campaign.

Interlagos' track surface led to high degradation across the field, leading to a day where tyre management reigned king, even after an early red flag following a start-line crash involving multiple cars.

This led to a second standing start, which saw Verstappen again hold off his rivals into Turn 1.

"The starts were very important today, both of them were very good," said the Dutchman.

"After that, the whole race was about the management of the tyres. We were good on any tyre, especially that middle stint, we could create a bit of a gap, we were strong there."

On the challenges faced after withstanding Norris' attack, Verstappen added: "It all looked quite good but with the high deg around here, you are constantly correcting the car so the focus always needed to be there, but fortunately it worked out well today."