After Saturday, it looked like McLaren’s Lando Norris would make a significant dent in Max Verstappen’s lead at the championship this weekend and move a little closer to hoping to win the world title again. This was mainly due to the results of the qualification, which was postponed to Sunday due to rain. But in the race, Verstappen turned the events in his favor with a famous drive and is now receiving the recognition he deserves.
Norris won Saturday’s sprint when teammate Piastri passed him for first place. McLaren’s double indicated that Brazil’s papaya single-seaters would suit, while Verstappen was not so expressive. The reigning champion didn’t even qualify in qualifying, where he didn’t manage to set a faster lap in a tangle of yellow and red flags and took twelfth place. Added to this was a five-place penalty for replacing engine components. On the other hand, Norris, the nearest rival, was happy with the pole position. In short, a weekend under the dog…
But Verstappen did not give up and put in a particularly spirited performance in the main race. From the seventeenth position on the grid, he gradually worked his way forward, overtaking one opponent after another. And finally Franco Colapinto’s accident and red flags played into his cards, after which everyone heads to the pits and can change tires “for free”.
On the other hand, this did not pay off for Norris, who was already in the pits and fell several places. And he wasn’t very happy about it. He even said after the race that Verstappen’s performance “wasn’t about talent, he was just lucky”.
But the rest of the world has a different opinion and the Dutchman is praised from all sides. Of course, the red flag helped him a lot, but before it he was already flying like mad on the wet asphalt of the Interlagos circuit, but at the same time precisely and without significant mistakes. And when he finally succeeded in restarting the race and immediately took first place, it was clear that he was not going to let this opportunity slip away.
In the end, he underlined his great form by setting the fastest lap of the race and gaining a lead of almost twenty seconds on the second Esteban Ocon. He took twenty-six points, while Norris got only eight for sixth place. And Max is now very close to becoming the champion next race weekend in Las Vegas.
“Great drive, congratulations,” wrote Verstappen his biggest juice Lewis Hamilton. “This was Maxterclass,” writes another fan. “A real champion’s ride,” said former Red Bull driver David Coulthard. “Championship driving in the rain on Ayrton Senna’s soil… just reminds me,” added another of his followers. According to many, it was even the best driving performance in the history of Formula 1.
We’ll leave that up to each fan. However, the numbers speak clearly. In the history of Formula 1, there have been 1,121 grands prix. And only 5 (in words five!) of them the rider was able to win from the seventeenth or worse position on the starting grid. Verstappen thus showed once again that (so far) the three-time world champion is definitely not a coincidence. And what are we going to talk about, after the not-so-successful second part of the season, he needed this like salt!
