Max Verstappen became the third different driver this year to win Driver of the Weekend on three separate occasions, joining Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
The two Nicos also fared well in the Brazilian Grand Prix poll after Rosberg won and Hulkenberg equalled his best result of the season.
Max Verstappen’s Brazilian Grand Prix weekend
His was the only Toro Rosso in the top ten at the end of final practice and he delivered on that potential in qualifying, netting a place in Q3. He started ninth and eventually finished there after being promoted one place by Felipe Massa’s penalty.
Verstappen lost a place to Sergio Perez at the start but reclaimed it later in the race, hanging on around the outside of the Senna S and forcing his way through in the second part of the corner. That wasn’t the only Mercedes-powered car he got in front of: he demoted Pastor Maldonado at the end of the race as well.
He wasn’t able to keep Romain Grosjean behind him, however, and made his displeasure at his engine’s poor power delivery clear on the radio.
The real hero for me was Max Verstappen. This guy is hands down the best addition to the grid for years. He impressed me all through this season. Even after his crash in Monaco, he didn’t bother too much with the criticism, put his head down and delivered time and time again. Just as he did on Saturday and Sunday. He brought his power-lacking Toro Rosso into Q3 again whereas his team mate didn’t. His ballsy pass on Perez was the move of the year for me and so he deserves my vote for driver of the weekend.
@Wallbreaker
Another overtaking masterclass from number 33. Impossible to follow and overtake with nowadays cars? Tell Verstappen more about this.
Tim (@Hoshino)
Kudos to Verstappen but Hamilton’s task was a lot more difficult. While Verstappen could use the better chassis of the Toro Rosso compared to Lotus and Force India to stay close in the last corner and then benefit from the slipstream and DRS to negate their speed advantage, Hamilton did not have that luxury.
Also don’t forget that Hamilton was able to pass Raikkonen with ease on his first attempt (on brand new tyres versus 20-plus laps for Raikkonen). But against Rosberg with the same car and tires it was always going to be a very tall order.
Ian Bond (@Ianbond001)
Brazilian Grand Prix winners and losers
Hulkenberg was another driver who stood out by demonstrating, as in 2010 and 2012, that he has a real flair for the particular demands of the Interlagos track. It was a good weekend for Valtteri Bottas too, although his Williams lacked the performance to take on the Ferraris this time.
Hulkenberg really needed strong results in qualifying and in the race to try wrest back the balance of power from Perez. He did a wonderful job in the race to hold off Kvyat on genuine pace.
@Geemac
I feel Bottas is again underrated. He was miles ahead of Massa the whole weekend and again he get’s no recognition for it again since he was never shown on TV.
@Patrickl
Rosberg performed nearly flawlessly all weekend, and after a couple of tough seasons for him seems to still be fully capable of progress and full of potential to turn the tides, even if statistically most will still be giving very little odds for him to beat Hamilton for the championship next year. He knows what he has to do and that actions speak louder than words.
@Robbie
But always remember, some of the best drivers in the world may not have been discovered yet:
Most definitely, no doubt, the taxi driver who took us to the track in his little bright yellow Beetle.
His overtakes made Verstappen look like a sissy, the way he took the kerbs was amazing and he didn’t even have DRS!
Jonathan Sarginson
2015 Driver of the Weekend winners
2015 Brazilian Grand Prix
- Verstappen takes third Driver of the Weekend win
- The 2015 turn-off goes on in Brazil
- Ericsson contact was a racing incident – Maldonado
- Williams drops Massa appeal on cost grounds
- Was Brazil more proof F1’s overtaking gimmicks aren’t working any more?
Ginja42 (@ginja42)
24th November 2015, 12:00
3 DOTW’s! Well deserved Max, he is fast becoming one of my favorite drivers, been able to rely on him all year for some exciting moments (even in the dullest races!!)
Amy Linares
24th November 2015, 12:07
Can’t wait to see what becomes of his career in the next few years – so talented for such a young age!
Dan
24th November 2015, 13:37
Have there been many other drivers who started ninth and finished tenth on the road who ended up DotW?
Sander (@)
24th November 2015, 13:56
That is how good he is, in a few years he can even start from pole, finish last and still win the DotW! /s
Baron
24th November 2015, 14:23
No. But then, it doesn’t happen often that Grosjean underperforms on Saturday.
Toxic (@)
24th November 2015, 21:22
The voters here are quite biased towards him so no surprise. He’s 18-teen and so cute I guess.
Philip (@philipgb)
24th November 2015, 23:14
I can’t recall DOTW going to someone who lost positions before, but by rights Verstappen out qualified 3 cars that were faster than his and only let 1 by at the flag. Two other cars with more powerful power units got track position on him with strategy and he made short work of taking those positions back.
It’s never a simple matter of maths who is the driver of the week else it would just go to the winner or driver who made up the most positions in the race. People make a judgement on the circumstances of how the result was achieved, usually based on opinion of what we think the car fairly deserved to achieve when compared with what the driver actually managed or in the case of the Mercedes drivers how much class they had over their team mate.
People rating him aren’t just jumping on a bandwagon, there is a bandwagon because almost every race he does something that shines which is the mark of great drivers when they are in average machinery.
CarWars (@maxv)
24th November 2015, 23:44
no because he finished 9th…
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
25th November 2015, 11:27
If you consider the circumstances though – ie losing places at the start after being crowded – his drive was very solid indeed. And certain cars qualify better than they race.
I personally voted for Hulk, but Max is deserving.
BS (@bs)
24th November 2015, 14:30
Makes sense, he was the only driver who stood out that weekend.
Interestingly his 3 DotW wins are 3 of the smallest 5 margins (1st, 4th,5th lowest). As impressive as he’s been he’s still got a bit to climb. :)
Can’t wait to see him in a properly quick package.
hahostolze
24th November 2015, 19:11
Still incredible he didn’t win it in China, redress of the balance I suppose.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
25th November 2015, 11:29
His braking in China was some of the best I’ve seen from any driver in recent times. Comprehensively outbraking, steering and still no lock-ups. Huge potential in that regard.
Sumedh Vidwans
24th November 2015, 14:40
Loved Jonathan’s comment! The real unsung hero of the race.
Although in my experience (in India), most cab drivers are like Maldonado, not Verstappen ;-)
hahostolze
24th November 2015, 19:10
It’s becoming embarrassing how you have to mention Sainz’ supposed misfortune in every single positive article about Verstappen. We get it, you don’t like him.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th November 2015, 23:55
I must really have it in for him to keep writing all these positive articles about him.
Wait, what?
Strontium (@strontium)
24th November 2015, 19:36
The sad reality is though, that there have been drivers before us, such as Kobayashi, who have raced like this, entertained us all, and ended up without a drive.
Strontium (@strontium)
24th November 2015, 19:37
*before now
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
25th November 2015, 11:31
Though true, the differentiator is the consistency of performance. Max has been scoring well all season.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
24th November 2015, 23:38
He’s performance is nice!
Martin
25th November 2015, 7:06
Six time in a row gathering costly points, in a car which is usually performing just in and around the top 10.
It’s not only the first time for TR but Verstappen is also the only driver who finished in the top 10 over the last six races.
He’s getting more expierence, more precise, more consistent.