Max Verstappen is delighted with his third win of the Formula 1 season. The Dutchman kept his cool in a thrilling duel with Lewis Hamilton at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen discussed his race. The first thing he referred to was the start. "We actually had two good starts." Verstappen was then reminded of his claim that he would win at a casino before he managed to get a good start.

"With the luck we've been having, we might as well go to the casino now, ha ha." It was then put to him that he should put everything on black. "Can you do that? We'll just pick a new colour," Verstappen joked.

Verstappen had trouble-free starts

Photo: Race Pictures

Verstappen was asked how he managed to get good starts this time. "I didn't really have any problems. Normally, something always goes wrong. Either the engine revs drop too low, but that didn't happen this time. So I think the first start was a bit better. We had a good slipstream and a very good first lap. We should have been leading after that."

Verstappen was referring to the Turn 1 incident between Leclerc and Hamilton. Leclerc explained he did not give his position back because Verstappen was between them. "That's not really allowed. You have to give the position back to the person you lost it to."

Leclerc was eventually given a five-second time penalty, leaving Verstappen puzzled. "Normally, that penalty is 10 seconds, and now suddenly it's five. I find that very strange too. In the end, it makes no difference. Although we had to fight tooth and nail for it."

Verstappen benefited from Ferrari's slow pit stop

Verstappen came into the pits as soon as Leclerc stopped. "They had a slow stop, a little over five seconds. It worked out well for us." The Dutchman was realistic, acknowledging that Red Bull was not the strongest team.

"I think it was clear that Ferrari were stronger today, 100%. I couldn't really stay that close to them. We were lucky that we were so fast on the straight. You can't afford to make a mistake, and we didn't. You have to try to stay focused through every corner and every lap."

Verstappen enjoyed the battle with Hamilton. "He said it a few weeks ago: you don't overtake a world champion around the outside, so that's not what happened either."

Verstappen also took a moment to reflect on Kimi Antonelli's championship. "I'm not going to join in the celebrations, because I'm heading to Brazil. I think he has enough people around him to celebrate with. It's very special to be able to win the championship in only your second season."

The Dutchman is not yet sure what to expect at the next race in São Paulo. "I don't know. We may have had a few too many balance issues in the race, so we need to look into that. But we'll take this win with us. We just want to keep learning for next season," he concluded.