During the late stages of the race, heavy rain returned, prompting a red flag on Lap 64. When racing resumed, Verstappen was leading the pack, closely followed by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. In the initial laps after the restart, Alonso mounted a pursuit of Verstappen, keeping the Dutchman on his toes. Ultimately, Verstappen managed to maintain his composure and secure victory with a 3.7-second lead over Alonso.
While Verstappen’s triumph appeared smooth from the outside, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko revealed the internal tension he experienced during Alonso’s chase. Marko explained that Verstappen’s car required more time to warm up its tires compared to Alonso’s Aston Martin, potentially due to differences in tire pressures. As Alonso closed in on Verstappen and narrowed the gap to just six-tenths of a second at one point, Marko’s heart rate increased as he observed the tense situation.
