Driver and team both 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 that came a day after the team announced Mateschitz , the Austrian billionaire co-founder of the Red Bull energy drinks global empire, had died at age 78.
The Red Bull team was told shortly before Saturday qualifying that Mateschitz had died, and Verstappen vowed he’d give everything to get the win to honor him.
“The only thing we could do today,” Verstappen said, “was win.”
Still, seeing the checkered flag was a relief.
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.
“Beautiful,” Verstappen said over team radio.
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.
“This one is definitely dedicated to Dietrich,” Verstappen said. “I pushed it to the limit to come back.”
Hamilton said he simply couldn’t hold off the charging Red Bull.
“It felt amazing to even just be within shooting distance of Max at some points in the race,” Hamilton said. “For a second, I thought we just might be able to hold onto it … He came from a long, long way back.”
The win continued Verstappen’s run of dominance in 2022.
He had already clinched his second consecutive season championship in Japan two weeks earlier. The Texas win was No. 13 this year, tying Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013) for most in a season with three races still to go.
Since its founding, Red Bull has won six driver championships and five constructors’ titles.
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