Max Verstappen isn't putting the cart before the horse in his fight for the world title against Lewis Hamilton despite taking a dominant win in the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Red Bull charger was in a league of his own at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, gaining an upper hand at the first corner over his Mercedes rivals and never looking back.
The Dutchman's 19th career win in F1 - his third in Mexico - has allowed the 24-year-old to extend his lead over Hamilton in the Drivers' standings to 19 points. But with four rounds to go, Verstappen isn't getting his championship hopes up just yet.
"[There’s] a long way to go," he said. "It's of course looking good, but also it can turn around real quickly. But I'm looking forward to Brazil. I'm also very good memories there."
©RedBull
"I don’t believe in momentum," he added. "So, every single race we have to try and nail the details and we didn’t do that [on Saturday].
"Things can go wrong very quickly, or can go right. So, it’s going to be really tight and exciting to the end.
"This has been always a track really good for us, so I expect Brazil not to be like it was today."
Unsurprisingly, Verstappen said the pivotal moment in Sunday's race was the run down to the first corner and the advantage he gained at the outset.
"It was nice three wide, and it was all about just trying to brake as late as we can," he commented.
"You can’t really practice how a start is going to go, because you end up left, middle, right, [it] depends on what happens.
"But once I was on the outside and basically on the racing line, I knew exactly where I was going to brake.
"It’s always a tricky one, especially the car on the inside is fully into the dirt because nobody is really driving there.
"I kept it on the track and went from third to first, and that was basically what made my race, because then I could just focus on myself.
"Incredible pace in the car, so I could just do my own thing."
Red Bull's success in Mexico was completed by Sergio Perez's third place finish – his third podium in three races, a result that delighted Verstappen.
"Checo, the last few races, has really picked it up and he's there, you know," said Verstappen.
"He was pressuring Lewis really well towards the end. It's really good to have both cars on the podium, especially for Checo here at his home Grand Prix. That was incredible to see."
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