Verstappen has his say on the late VSC in Mexico

Max Verstappen has brushed off the late virtual safety car that denied him a P2 finish at the Mexican Grand Prix.

With a super second stint on the soft tyres, the Dutchman recovered from a P5 start to be within a second of Charles Leclerc in second, looking certain to make the move before the end of the race.

However, due to a late retirement from Carlos Sainz in the stadium section of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the VSC was deployed and neutralised the field.

With just a lap remaining, racing returned to normal, but the four-time world champion could not make the move, settling for a third-place finish behind Leclerc and race-winner Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen closed the gap to Oscar Piastri in the title battle, but Lando Norris' win saw him take the championship lead - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

"You win some and you lose some. Sometimes the Safety Car works for you and sometimes it works against you," Verstappen explained to James Hinchcliffe during the post-race interviews.

The 27-year-old also had to deal with a highly entertaining start, going four-wide into turn 1 and cutting across the grass to take evasive action.

"It was very hectic at the beginning of the race for me. I almost crashed," stated Verstappen to James Hinchcliffe in the post-race interviews.

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"Everyone around me was on soft tyres, and we were on medium, so it was a bit of a struggle. It was about surviving the first stint.

"Once we bolted on the softs, I think we were a little bit more competitive and happier. It was a difficult weekend for us, but to be fighting for P2 with everything that happened in the first few laps was a very strong result."

In the title battle, Norris took the lead for the first time since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with his win in Mexico, while Verstappen closed the gap to Oscar Piastri in P2 thanks to his podium finish.

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