Verstappen suffers burning ambition in Mexico

Max Verstappen’s colourful impact on Formula One continued on Friday when 24 hours after wishing for a quieter life in the cockpit his car was briefly engulfed in flames when his brakes caught fire. The incident happened in the morning practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez where the Dutch teenager was seeking to bounce back from a troubled United States Grand Prix last Sunday which ended in retirement due to a car failure. “I think it was all a bit unfortunate for me today as I needed to do two installation laps just to go out again and they told me to keep pushing. “I think you can’t push in your in-lap and all in all, with those combinations, the brakes caught a bit of a fire." On Friday, Verstappen said he would be avoiding using team radio because he believed that he is targeted by broadcasters, wishing to air his comments more often than other drivers. He warned that with the thin air at the high altitude circuit there were likely to be more incidents of cooling problems for cars and their braking systems. “I think, in the race, you cannot slow down on your in-lap to the pits, so it will be tough. This track is always challenging, as it was last year. So we will have to wait and see how they hold on.” He added that though the track did not suit the strengths of the Red Car, he believed they had found good race pace. “I think it was very strong and we need to look into it a bit –- but I was happy to find a final set-up change after losing so much time with the fire. It worked pretty well for me and I feel fairly confident.”