Furious Max Verstappen shares ‘destroying' his room in Brazil tale

Max Verstappen has admitted he wanted to “destroy” his room out of anger following a dreadful qualifying at the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Dutchman qualified 12th last year in Brazil but was demoted to 17th because of a penalty for exceeding his engine allowance with a new power unit fitted in his Red Bull.

With title rival Lando Norris claiming pole position, Verstappen was left fuming at how qualifying had panned out. The Red Bull driver revealed that it was his father, Jos, who ultimately calmed him down.

“I was very upset with qualifying,” Verstappen said on the Talking Bull podcast.

“I wanted to destroy my room, but then I walked into my room and my dad was sitting there.

When asked if his father had already destroyed the room for him, Verstappen replied: “No, he was the calm one. He was very calm.

“I was so angry and then I see him so calm, that actually calmed me down.”

‘A lot of sad faces’ in Red Bull

Verstappen would go on to produce one of his greatest victories to climb from 17th on the grid and win a chaotic race which took place in heavy rain. This moved him to the brink of a fourth world title, which he clinched at the next round in Las Vegas.

“When I think back to the day, I could also feel in the office as we were preparing for the race, because everything happened on the same day, it was a lot of sad faces,” he explained.

“You are starting P17, your main rival is starting first so it could be a massive points swing at that point of the championship. So everyone was quite nervous as well.

“But then it rained. It was a wet day. I jumped in the car. Of course I like the conditions, I like the wet, but you never know what will happen or can happen because at the same time you might be taken out or you spin off the track yourself because it’s very difficult.

“But as soon as the race got underway, it was good. It was nice. I enjoyed it a lot. I felt good. Step by step, driving to the front.”

Verstappen admitted he felt “relief” on the podium and knew he was on course to claim the world championship, after Norris had a difficult race and could only finish sixth.

“I knew as soon as I won that race and the outcome in general, that that’s it,” he added.