Over the opening two legs of F1’s triple header tour of the Americas, Max Verstappen’s uncompromising, unforgiving defending from championship rival Lando Norris had drawn criticism from fans, rivals – and eventually the stewards.
So when the world champion was slapped with dual penalties in Mexico for bullying the McLaren off the circuit twice in half a lap, the team’s CEO Zak Brown fired some pointed words Verstappen’s way.“Max is such an awesome racing driver, I just don’t think you need to drive like that,” Brown said in the aftermath of a heated race in Mexico City. “Just drive like the world champion that you are.”
Flash forward a week later, Norris was poised to turn the pressure on his rival to critical levels. Just a handful of hours after he’d grasped his seventh pole of the season in a postponed Sunday morning qualifying session, Norris sat with his back to the wall on the Interlagos grid, psyching himself up for the most important two hours of his motorsport career to date.
Norris was out to do damage. While Verstappen, starting all the way down in the 17th grid slot, was focused on damage control.
The race start had been moved 90 minutes earlier the evening before. Not to avoid the rain, but the worst of it. As the mechanics evacuated to the sides of the track, all 19 cars taking the start sat with intermediate tyres. But with a cell of rain lurking just south of the circuit approaching the Senna Esses, drivers would have a long and difficult afternoon ahead of them.
The severity of the challenge lying before the drivers was made clear on the formation lap. After Norris led George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson and the rest of the field away, Lance Stroll demonstrated how risky every corner and every braking zone would be as his car suddenly snapped right under braking for Subida do Lago, sending him spearing right and skidding slowly into the wall. Although Stroll got his Aston Martin going again, he tried to rejoin the circuit by driving through the gravel trap, which did its job by holding his car in place and forcing Stroll into possibly most embarrassing retirement of his career.
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It was clear to all watching the race could not start, but for the next three minutes confusion reigned. Drivers were warned the start would likely be aborted, but it was not until the remaining cars had lined up on the grid that race control finally flashed the signal on the gantry. There was notice of an ‘extra formation lap’, but out of habit, Norris automatically pulled off the grid again without prompting by his team, leading to Russell and the cars behind them following suit.
When the lights went out, Norris and Russell both matched each other for the quality of their launch. But as they crested the small rise approaching the first corner, the Mercedes crept up until Russell was far enough alongside to command the inside line for the first corner. Russell led them through Curva so Sol for the first time, with Tsunoda still third, having repelled a challenge from Gasly into the opening sequence.
Behind, Verstappen had already jumped from 17th to 11th as he entered the back straight – two places gained from cars ahead failing to start before passing four cars into the first three turns. By the time Verstappen rounded the Senna Esses at the start of lap two, he was already in a points scoring position – dispatching Lewis Hamilton as if he was lapping the Mercedes.
But while one Mercedes dropped a place, the other was making the most of the clear track in front of it out in the lead. McLaren had bolted as much wing on Norris’s car as they dared heading into the morning qualifying session, but while Norris was sticking close to Russell, he could not draw alongside without DRS to assist him due to the top speed of the Mercedes.
“I’m just struggling to overtake,” Norris complained. “I’m just so slow on the straight.”
As the rain continued to build up and dissipate in waves, managing the life of the intermediates was priority one for drivers. By lap 20, a new patch of rain was approaching, but some in the pit lane were beginning to question if another set of intermediates would offer better grip to handle it.
After Lawson offered little resistance to him, Verstappen came across his first true challenge in the form of Charles Leclerc’s fifth-placed Ferrari. Despite swarming all over Leclerc over the opening sector on lap 22, Verstappen was rebuffed confidently by his oldest rival. But as the skies darkened with heavier rain, Ferrari decided now was the time to sharpen Leclerc’s weapons and pit him for a fresh set of intermediates.
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Almost immediately, those threatening clouds gathering overhead began depositing their contents around the 4.3km circuit. Although the new water did not seem to affect lap times, the impact on visibility and the margin for error was evident when Nico Hulkenberg spun off circuit entering the first corner. As the stranded Haas received outside assistance – dooming it to a rare disqualification – the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
Despite Russell’s misgivings, Mercedes called the race leader in at the end of lap 28, moments before the VSC period ended. Norris followed him in while, behind, Ocon, Verstappen and the gaining Gasly braved it out on their used intermediates.
By now, the circuit was as wet as it had been at any point when cars had been running on it over the weekend. Russell was so cautious to not lose his car simply by driving along the back straight that he only used 60% throttle on the run to Subida do Lago. Norris reached 80% throttle, with the 30kph extra it gave him proving easily enough to finally drive by the Mercedes and claim the net lead of the race.
Or, rather, it would have been the net lead of the race had it not been for Safety Car being deployed a matter of seconds later. Not for an incident, but for the conditions having deteriorated so much.
Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly were now the leaders under the Safety Car, with Norris fourth ahead of Russell and Tsunoda – all three having fitted new tyres and poised to pounce on those ahead with their well-worn rubber. But when Franco Colapinto lost control of his Williams heading up the hill on his way out of the pits while attempting to catch the pack, the resulting crash forced race control to suspend the race with a red flag.
The aggressive call from Verstappen and the Alpines to stay out on worn intermediates even as the rain intensified had been immediately validated. Not only was Ocon now genuinely leading the race, Verstappen was ahead of Norris. They all had an ability to fit new tyres under the red flag, meaning that Verstappen had managed to completely overturn his disadvantage to his rival and now was in a much stronger position than Norris for the second half of the race.
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Conditions were still heavily wet when the race resumed around half an hour later, but the intermediates were still the preferred choice. Ocon headed the field to the restart as he led his first Formula 1 laps since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But despite Verstappen sticking as tightly with him as possible, the Alpine held the lead. Behind, Norris handed Russell back the fourth place he had toiled for so long to take from the Mercedes when he slid off at Subida do Lago at the restart, dropping him behind Russell once again.
Soon afterwards, Carlos Sainz Jnr – race winner the previous weekend in Mexico – committed the same error as the rookie into Laranjha. Unfortunately for Sainz, the barriers were much closer to this corner and his resulting impact with the tyre wall put him out of the race and resulted in the second Safety Car deployment of the day.
Verstappen had not pressured Ocon for the lead after the initial restart, but with a second attempt, he was determined to make it count. Ocon waited until the DRS activation zone to launch this time around, but Verstappen was all over it and did not brake as hard for the first corner as the Alpine, trusting his RB20 to find the grip it would need to the inside to take the corner and, with it, the lead. It proved a risk worth taking as he moved into the lead, then cut off the inside of turn two to prevent any repeat of their 2018 contact.
Whether Norris was aware or not that his championship rival was in the process of taking first place, things were about to get worse for him as he locked up his rear brakes and slid off the circuit, narrowly avoiding hitting Russell and rejoining behind Piastri in seventh. An afternoon that had started off with Norris looking to land his biggest blow against Verstappen in the championship to date now saw him doomed to lose significant ground in the title chase.
Now in front for the first time, Verstappen did what he does best and started to slowly but surely pull away from the two Alpines behind him. Russell was around a second behind the third-placed Gasly, but despite his early race leading pace, the Mercedes struggled to get close enough to him to think about a pass without the benefit of DRS. However, Russell’s persistent presence alone was putting Gasly under enough pressure.
“He was quite big in the mirrors,” Gasly later described. “But I always had him at bay. I don’t think he ever had the idea of trying anything. So I knew as long as I keep him within one second, it’ll be good enough.”
Verstappen lowered the fastest lap 14 times over the final 24 laps of the race, pulling out an advantage of over 15 seconds despite being told “no risks” by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. A day that had started with Verstappen raging with frustration after a Q2 elimination gave him his worst starting position on the grid for three years had seen him put in a drive more than equal to his famous Sao Paulo performance in 2016 and his championship rival capitulate in the conditions.
Verstappen completed lap 69 to take the chequered flag first for the eighth time in the season but the first since the Spanish Grand Prix back in June. A ten-round win drought had finally ended in the most impressive manner imaginable.
“I don’t even know where to start, because my emotions today have been from almost trying to destroy the garage to winning the race,” he said. “I was just very motivated to get a good race and just let the race pan out and see what happens. Because in a wet race, always some crazy things can happen.”
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Verstappen’s point was proven by the two drivers joining him on the podium: Ocon and Gasly. Neither had finished higher than ninth all season, yet in just a single afternoon, Alpine’s annus horribilis now had a double podium and a monster haul of 35 points to leap them from ninth to sixth in the championship.
Russell could not find a way by Gasly and had to settle for fourth, the highest placed of the drivers who had made a racing pit stop for another set of intermediates. After a day that promised so much, Norris limped home in sixth behind Leclerc, having seen his deficit to Verstappen in the championship balloon back up to 62 points, his slim hopes of somehow beating the world champion all but lost.
Yuki Tsunoda claimed a strong seventh for RB ahead of Piastri who dropped to eighth after a ten second penalty for hitting Lawson, who finished ninth. Hamilton took the final point in tenth after describing his Mercedes as the “worst he’s ever driven” after taking the chequered flag.
But after many months of frustration, fighting against the limits of his car and the regulations, Verstappen had returned to the top step of the podium after what will likely be the defining drive of his fourth world championship. Having been told to “drive like the champion he was”, Verstappen had given Zak Brown exactly what he’d asked for, and virtually ended anyone else’s hopes of beating him to this year’s title.
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2024 Brazilian Grand Prix
- “I didn’t really want to come back” – Hamilton explains cryptic Brazil radio message
- Ocon’s role in Gasly’s Q2 exit was almost another ‘flare-up’ at Alpine – Oakes
- Interlagos must improve “very bad” new track surface for 2025, say F1 drivers
- “That’s how we silence them”: Verstappen’s stunning Brazil win from start to finish
- Verstappen now has as many wins as F1’s first six world champions combined
F1 race reviews
- Verstappen masters race track and rule book with satisfying Qatar victory
- Russell strikes gold in Vegas as Verstappen’s title comes at a canter
- Sainz seizes swansong Ferrari win as Perez endures home race horror show
- Ferrari’s dominant Austin GP one-two overshadowed as title rivals clash again
- Norris can’t claim full reward despite most dominant display this season
Alan Dove
4th November 2024, 8:34
Brown isn’t a critic, that’s just game playing to put on pressure to give his driver the best advantage possible. In reality he’d bite his right arm off to have Max in his car driving exactly the way he does. The guy has a Senna replica kart, he’s no non-fan of aggressive drivers.
Red Pill (@redpill)
4th November 2024, 18:05
I’m not defending Brown, but then look at Horners rhetoric and Wolff’s press comments. It seems just one their job descriptions to lobby through the press.
Personally, I would like to see all three greatly reduce their jabbing at other teams and lobbying in front of the press; trying to sell their angle and (no so concrete) defense to aid their cause. It doesn’t help the enjoyment of the racing, and just creating a lot of noise.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
4th November 2024, 9:08
“Not for an incident, but for the conditions having deteriorated so much.”
“the resulting crash forced race control to suspend the race with a red flag.”
The safety car should ONLY be called out for an accident – if the race is running and the conditions are considered too dangerous it should be red flagged. You could even argue that a VSC would have been safer than a safety car as with VSC gaps are maintained and the cars are not all packed closely together.
Also Russell called out that the race should have been red flagged earlier – crazy that race control again took questionable decisions certainly considering the safety of the drivers.
The FIA should seriously investigate all of race control decisions during the entire Brazil weekend and publish the results because it was inconsistent (certainly in timing between incident & decision) and in my opinion some bad decisions were made.
This is certainly not the first time, I think it was Sebastian Vettel that was far more irate in Belgium that qualifying should have been red flagged earlier but only did so after the dangerous crash of Norris.
MichaelN
4th November 2024, 9:24
Disagree with preemptive neutralisations. Especially when half the field is on Intermediate tyres. They’re taking a deliberate risk.
The real issue is standing water. The only way to handle that is to drive so slow that it becomes dangerous to others because of the potential speed difference. Tracks have mostly solved this, though, such that proper puddles or streams are now very rare.
Jojo
4th November 2024, 9:34
A lot of drivers were still out on inters, some on fresh inters some on worn ones. Very few took the safer option to go onto the slow wet tyres. So if the conditions were still ok for inters, I don’t think it was quite red flag territory.
I agree that sometimes the full safety car feels almost as unsafe as the VSC with all the cars so bunched up. Especially once it goes green and drivers try to anticipate when the lead driver might go, which can lead to some pretty big crashes.
Grapmg
4th November 2024, 9:39
The problem is all the drivers stay on inters because of strategy advantage. I think mandatory wet tyres in wet races and qualification will solve that problem. It will level the playing field.
Craig
4th November 2024, 10:41
It’s arguable the inters are just a bit too good as they’re workable, even when worn, in various rain conditions. It’s not something with an easy solution.
Sergey Martyn
5th November 2024, 11:01
Mandatory wet tyres are as stupid as Bernie’s sprinklers and threaded tyres.
Mandatory regulations are killing F1.
Gimme back six wheelers, unrestricted turbo boost, double or triple diffusers, fan cars (Brabham BT46), active suspension, driver aids etc.!
They moan aloud about Greta Tundberg and green agenda, but keep the mandatory tyre change.
Dex
4th November 2024, 13:39
Why would you wish to see more red flags? How’s that in our interest (as public, fans, viewers, whatever)? I’d leave that to technocrats.
Mayrton
4th November 2024, 9:10
Counters, but hardly convinces some, I must conclude from the comments on this site throughout the various articles. That’s a valuable insight though.
Kim Philby (@philby)
4th November 2024, 9:59
One of the unconvinced here. For whatever reason Verstappen worshippers seem to believe that being great and being lucky are mutually exclusive.
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 8:17
Sorry you feel that way. I can relate though. Back in the days I had the same with Schumacher. What I learnt from it is that my dislike of him hurt myself the most since it was history being written but I just didn’t want to see it. It’s human. But my message would be to try and enjoy it a bit more and set aside the dislike. I am sure we all love the game more than the drivers that come and go.
Craig
4th November 2024, 10:46
It’s one of his best drives, if not his best, it’s hard to say otherwise (it’s not exactly a secret he’s good in the wet when he gets the feel in the car he needs), even if it was hugely frustrating to watch as it seemed everyone else was broadly stuck in trains unable to do much unless someone made a mistake.
I don’t think it negates any of the previous races however, some of which underlined his terrible attitude while others were still pretty good (his Silverstone drive, for example)
W-K (@w-k)
4th November 2024, 15:09
I disagree, Verstappen and the Alpines were gifted the first three places, when the VSR ended just as Russel and Lando entered the pit lane. It came too late for them, or the teams, to change their minds. But obviously, well before Verstappen and the Alpines, reached the pit lane entrance, and so they stayed out and moved into the lead.
They were given, a cherry on top, with a free pit stop when the red flag was thrown.
Craig
4th November 2024, 18:26
Which is entirely true. Have to admit if I could edit comments I’d probably remove the “if not his best” from it as he’s had better drivers where he’s not needed to rely on such a lucky break to get ahead of more difficult rivals.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
4th November 2024, 9:14
A weekend that showed both the best and the worst of F1. A sublime drive in challenging conditions from one of the sport’s best ever. A great showing from the whole Alpine team, who grabbed with both hands the opportunity to show what they’re capable of when their car disadvantage is neutralised. A sensible, pragmatic call to change the session times in response to forecasted bad weather.
But, in contrast, some silly officiating, including rewriting the rule book on the fly to avoid giving out meaningful penalties, both to the drivers who took it upon themselves to complete an extra formation lap and to Mercedes for their violation of the technical rules. Not to mention the dubious decision to reward those on the wrong tyres by calling out the safety car.
Grapmg
4th November 2024, 9:44
I thought they called out the safety car because of an incident (hulk) not the weather. or did I miss something?
Red Andy (@red-andy)
4th November 2024, 9:51
Hulkenberg was responsible for the earlier VSC. The track went back to green after he moved off, then the SC came out shortly afterwards, but because of the weather, not in response to any particular incident.
Grapmg
4th November 2024, 10:20
Oke that is strange didn’t notice that
Martin (@f1hornet)
4th November 2024, 10:27
I’m so tired of the FIA’s pro-Dutch and pro-French bias, ending the VSC just as they knew the two British drivers were going to pit, then neutralising the race with a safety car despite there being no incidents to ensure Max stayed at the front and could get a free pit stop under the red flag.
Osnola
4th November 2024, 11:04
Lol, you probably should have set the /s
Not everyone here will notice the sarcasm.
Martin (@f1hornet)
4th November 2024, 14:31
Seems you were right!
Dex
4th November 2024, 13:44
Or having yellow flags in qualy just as Max approaches the final corner, after letting everyone else pass? I mean, if you want to be a biased sore loser, at least consider all the biased views. Max started 17th because of that (being a right or wrong decision), but your Britishness would rather spread the narrative that soothes your hurt feelings. If Max was British, you’d probably still be going on about 20 sec time penalty from the last race as well, and make fun of Norris for his mistakes, because picking on a loser is such a fun thing to do; making you feel high and mighty.
rprp
4th November 2024, 15:13
Whoosh
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 8:26
I do so relate. It has become a horrible season once again with the meddling by the FIA. There are by now so many questionable decisions made, so openly and clearly favouring the challenger. It has, quite frankly, gotten to a disgusting level. Combined with the horrible Uk press they are a menace to today’s society. The epiphany of unsportsmanlike behavior.
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 9:38
I agree. The organisation showed their worst side once again. They really disqualified themselves again. Some drivers did perform exceptionally despite FIAs attempt, which made it not only an interesting sports event to watch but also entertaining. How is Johnny doing after all this? He must be gutted.
MichaelN
4th November 2024, 9:18
A great result to be sure, but it can’t be seen separate from the Alpine double podium. They won the lottery, and to their credit, they didn’t throw it away. It’s a bit of a reach to equate this with some of the all time great wet wins, though, which saw genuine lights to flag racing under sometimes much harsher conditions.
It’s also another lesson for McLaren. Are they fighting for race wins or titles? They have collectively failed to live up to the moment, and that Norris was unable to close the gap to Verstappen over the summer put them in this desperate situation. And next year is not a given. With Ferrari getting Hamilton in their car, and Red Bull potentially moving on from Pérez, McLaren will face much stronger opposition.
Grapmg
4th November 2024, 10:35
Why dismiss the Alpine podium as a lucky lottery. Occon and Gasly have the bad luck to have one of the worst cars of the field. Finally the rain makes it a more level playing field for them. They did a great job both in qualy and the race. Nothing than respect for both of them
An Sionnach
4th November 2024, 11:13
Ocon drove very well. Yes, he had some luck, but he was the quickest of all drivers by a huge margin in the heavy wet conditions. Max took it easy until conditions improved, but Ocon himself had cause to be cautious. Great drive from him. Gasly drove very well in the wet, too, largely keeping up with Ocon after the restart. It was also good to see the two boys so happy for each other and the team. This is even more the case because they have most often been rowing!
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th November 2024, 14:00
Does it not make it a level playing field for almost everyone? It’s a chance for Kick Sauber to win the race and go down in history as the best drivers EVER.
On turn 1 alone we’d see everyone trying to make up 10 spots so they can go from P20 to P10 and then slice through the field like butter since history is calling.
Who would turn down a chance to meet with destiny, take on the entire grid, and put all of them in their place? Do they not race for a living? :-)
Grapmg
5th November 2024, 7:42
Exactly my point. That’s why we love the wet weather races.
Osnola
4th November 2024, 9:24
The rain master strikes again. Masterclass wet driving with fast lap after fast lap. From 17 to 1 is more then ” luck” its utter brilliance.
Alpine a deserved podium. Even ocon and gasly were friends for this ceremonie.
Norris loosing his gifted pole again and making lots of mistakes. Avoided penaltys by inconsistent stewarding ( wrong passport kind /s )
Piastri dropping the ball and lost concentration.
The short time between quali and race showed rebuilding cars takes some time and resulted in unsafe cars on the grid.
An Sionnach
4th November 2024, 13:21
Regen Meester?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th November 2024, 9:34
I think this race showed the championship was never open, not with both Max/Redbull and Norris/McLaren current capabilities. Norris/McLaren had half the season to cut the gap and never could. This race didn’t win the championship but certainly sealed it. Max has been just one step above his competitors, even when the car wasn’t capable of doing much.
erikje (@erikje)
4th November 2024, 10:07
I’m not sure at which races the RedBull wasn’t capable of doing much. It’s never been worse than 3rd fastest.
Hardly a struggle. Every single team have suffered much more at times throughout the season.
Ludewig
4th November 2024, 10:18
Having the third fastest car means that 5th would be the race result that matches the quality of the car. If Norris had won every race while his car was best, and Max had gotten 5th, Norris would have gained 15 points on him for every race. And during races where the Red Bull was the 2nd best car, Norris would still have gained 10 points if he had won and Max had gotten 3rd.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th November 2024, 10:43
How many times in F1 history has the 3rd fastest car won a race on pace alone?
Craig
4th November 2024, 10:53
More often then you’d likely thing though it would take a long time going through all the data to come up with a number (not to mention a lot of subjective judgements to determine the “3rd fastest car”).
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th November 2024, 11:56
Still not many, and very rare for a championship defence.
Craig
4th November 2024, 13:08
Don’t forget his championship lead was originally built when he had the best car by some margin and no one’s come close to that level of sustained dominance since.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
4th November 2024, 14:26
It’s arguably been 2nd fastest and plenty of neutral race experts think that the Hamilton winning years of 2008, 2017 and 2018, were with a car that was arguably 2nd best to the Ferrari
Put another way, put Ham in that Ferrari, for those years and they wouldn’t still be waiting for the first title since 2007.
So, yes Max has is another who’s shown that you can have a slightly inferior car for half a season and still win.
Redhot
5th November 2024, 11:55
It is simply the British motto – If you are not good at the sport then make it about game man ship. It used to be about Real/Barca players diving all the time. I see more diving in PL now than La Liga/Serie A. At the end you need the ruthlessness to win but at the same time I do agree not at all costs. The annoying thing is that Russell/Hamilton and other brits can be aggressive and called great racing but if MAX did it then it is an issue and it is only an issue if he does it against any of the brits. He has had battles with everyone else but none of that ever gets brought up.
MAX should move aside if fighting any brits and never win any championships so Lando can win it.
It will always be the case. Max goes to the limit trying to find time even last season when he had the fastest car. Only reason we are saying it was fastest car of all the time because MAX was so consistent. Nobody on the current grid would have broken all of those records. They may have won the championship easily but MAX does get all out of the car sometimes a bit too much and that’s why he is so good.
Craig
4th November 2024, 10:52
It was always going to be an uphill struggle for Norris to overcome Verstappen that even “better” drivers would struggle to overcome considering how superior the Red Bull was at the beginning of the season to give them such a lead and the fact no one team/driver has taken the reigns of the championship since Austria when Red Bull arguably dropped them (while Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren have taken turns winning races, the Red Bull has still been there or there abouts).
MichaelN
4th November 2024, 12:39
The Miami upgrade brought the McLaren into contention, and that was only race 6.
Norris and McLaren lost a lot of opportunities to do better over the summer, when the gap was 6 or 7 points per race., entirely possible as it’s less even than the difference between 1st and 2nd. That Verstappen kept his lead through the summer to the point where Red Bull is winning again was the key, and that’s partly his doing, and partly the failure of McLaren, in which you’d have to include Piastri who was too often too slow in the races, and picked unnecessary fights with his own teammate. Losing in Monza was just bad.
Mayrton
5th November 2024, 8:30
I said it before this season I would see Max become champion in not the best car. It’s his consistency in which he gets the maximum out of the car no matter where it sits between the competition. The others just shine when they have the materials to do so. That makes ALL the difference.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
4th November 2024, 12:58
+1
An Sionnach
4th November 2024, 13:32
I think it was open. If it hadn’t rained Norris would have won and Max may not have gotten much better than sixth or seventh. The pendulum had swung in favour of McLaren. I thought Norris would be good in the rain, but he wasn’t. One thing I noticed about Max was that he didn’t always try something straight away, but waited for a lap to see what the conditions were like at any given time. Yes, he’s talented, but part of his excellence was down to patience and assessing the conditions as they changed. I think a lot of the drivers take longer to do this, or try and force it and go off or into someone. They would take longer to adjust to the new tarmac, too, so the complexity of the changes at Interlagos was much higher than usual.
If Max wins this championship, it will be became the gods themselves have him rain at Interlagos. Otherwise, I don’t think he has a good enough car and would fall short by a slim margin. I was annoyed that he would equal Prost without anywhere near as much effort, but… this time he deserves it.
An Sionnach
4th November 2024, 13:51
*because* the gods themselves *gave* him rain at Interlagos.
notagrumpyfan
4th November 2024, 9:58
Was it a coincidence that Colapinto crashed at a moment favourable to Verstappen and Horner’s visit to Williams the day before?
Bob C.
4th November 2024, 10:00
Yes
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th November 2024, 10:43
Are you serious?
notagrumpyfan
4th November 2024, 11:20
Just asking for a friend.
PS I noticed Piquet was at the race as well.
PPS and I wonder what Ecclestone, also present, would have.
José Lopes da Silva
4th November 2024, 14:51
Nelson Piquet was at the Brazilian Grand Prix? How could that be?
Ecclestone was at the Brazilian Grad Prix? The four-decade F1 boss, Brazil-resident, was at the Brazilian Grand Prix? No way.
notagrumpyfan
4th November 2024, 20:30
Nelson?
FIA Vice President!
José Lopes da Silva
5th November 2024, 9:13
@notagrumpyfan and br*xit was great
Craig
4th November 2024, 10:54
As much as the idea crossed my mind once as I wouldn’t put it past Horner, I seriously doubt it.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
4th November 2024, 10:59
Yes
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
4th November 2024, 9:58
I always felt sure that Max would bang in a couple more wins to seal the Championship.
I didn’t think that it would be with such style, nor in such conditions, and from so far back.
McLaren should have been taking the WDC far more seriously for far much longer. It’s like they had given up before the season even started, and that mentality is hard to come back from.
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 10:14
I’m not sure ‘counters criticism’ is right: Brown and other called for Verstappen to show his driving talent, rather than rule bending and breaking, which is precisely what he did. Just not sure that’s what they really expected or wanted!
There are some ‘dampening’ factors to consider: a fresh power unit, the Red Bull handling better than rivals, a bunch of drivers effectively clearing out of the way for Max by going off or being Red Bull drivers, his main rivals in the race not having to be passed. But just moving through the grid in such hazardous conditions requires supreme control. After taking the lead, Verstappen knocked out fastest lap after fastest lap. It was a great performance. Not sure if it’s even his best ever, but the reason it was so striking and emphatic was the contrast with his title rival losing P1 from pole again, making mistakes, calling the strategy wrong (he should never have pitted and ceded track position, that’s a racing 101 and it was his insistence that puushed McLaren into the call) and generally not showing the same speed and control in the rain.
BasCB (@bascb)
4th November 2024, 10:26
I agree here. That Verstappen drove on the top level we have seen from him and showed again why he is the champion he is, actually proves Brown’s point – just drive this well Max and you are a great champion, you do not need to get into the angry Max mode of ruthlessly pushing people off.
Here there never even was a reason nor a chance to do it badly and the racing was better for it. Again we see a driver with a fresh engine romping the field to get them very close to nailing the championship, a great drive helped with good strategy calls and a bit of luck, just what we want to see. McLaren did not do as good a job, nor did Norris in the race. Simple.
Osnola
4th November 2024, 11:09
Not sure if that engine had anything to do with it.
Seeing the badly motorized alpine with by far the worst engine on the grid filling the podium. It was not the engine that made the difference here!
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 12:21
But it could allow Red Bull to risk running some extra downforce on Max’s car knowing that if the race dried up, he wouldn’t be underpowered. No idea whether that happened, but seems likely.
Robbie1
4th November 2024, 11:11
“A bunch of drivers effectively clearing out of the way for Max by going off or being Red Bull drivers”
Yeah, he only had to actually overtake Gasly, Bottas, Ocon, Hamilton, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Bearman, Perez and, to some degree, Lawson. Something very easy without drs on a very tricky track…
“ with a fresh engine”
Which matters a lot in a wet race…
“ the Red Bull handling better than rivals”
Perez agrees…
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 11:59
The overtake of Piastri was the best and most difficult, the fresh engine made some difference, just less than usual, and Pérez was faster than the cars in front, only he couldn’t get past (unlike Verstappen). Just being realistic. Without the red flag, I doubt he’d have passed Russell and Norris, but doesn’t not make it a great performance (as I said).
RH
15th November 2024, 20:54
Hamilton fans coping as usual.
Nothing really changes.
Illusive (@illusive)
4th November 2024, 10:31
Its fascinating to see some of the excuses some make to not credit this incredible drive. There’s no way if this was a dry session all week, Max could beaten the Mclaren. But thats precisely what these conditions are. A test of drivers skill, mental awareness and fortitude. Even in Singapore under hot conditions, Lando was making mistakes even in a rocketship but the dry conditions still masked it. Here there was no escaping from that. This Max performance should not just be looked at current years championship perspective but also the psychological dent to Lando’s aspirations in future and the faith of Mclaren in him. Oscar should belay team orders from now, its not worth helping Lando. He isnt worthy.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th November 2024, 17:19
@illusive yes, because Max is so good at racing cleanly over the years. He used his skill to do it today but when the cars are equal or close he just pushes the other car out as far as possible as he’s not able to find any extra grip over any other driver and panics.
Does it not stand to reason that he would not be able to find the same extra grip in dry conditions as in wet conditions?
He has shown us that he can lap cars in dry conditions – is that only because the car is massively quicker?
There’s a checkmate on either side of these arguments. His drive today belittles Max’s inability to fight cleanly like Alonso did in Hungary.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
4th November 2024, 18:37
Yeah this.
Lando is amazing at times, but lacks consistency. He will need much faster car to beat Verstappen over a season. Maybe next year?
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
4th November 2024, 11:22
Great drive by Max. I’m no great fan – but you have to applaud a performance like that.
Being brutal, like peak Hamilton at Germany 2018 – Max reminded Norris, what a truly great driver looks like.
And it ain’t Lando, George, Charles or any other of the ‘youngsters’
We have to hope and pray that Lewis gets it’s his mojo back at Ferrari and Newey can give Fernando a competitive car – because basically the only way the others are regularly beating Max is if his red bull is noticeably inferior.
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 11:49
@banbrorace Jenson Button predicted at the start of the season that it would be a difficult one for Hamilton as he was increasingly edged out. I think we saw the first signs back at Silverstone and Spa. I really don’t give credence to the idea that he’s lost it permanently, more confidence, car and team issues. Though I do sometimes wonder whether retiring from F1 after 2021, as he said he’d pondered for a month after Abu Dhabi, might not have been the better decision. So far the decision to persist hasn’t really been validated. I agree that the Ferrari move is where it’s going to happen if anywhere. But that’s 2025.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
4th November 2024, 12:04
Yes. I think as soon as you announce leaving any elite sporting team, the dynamic changes. He alluded, that he was happy to help George, given that he was going.
I think he will be re-energised. Basically, he simply has never liked this Merc and probably has never believed in it – which is why it is correct that he’s going. In some ways it shows he still wants to win.
David BR (@david-br)
4th November 2024, 12:18
@banbrorace I agree. Also it was a vote of non-confidence in Mercedes to make the switch and they all know that (and undoubtedly it wasn’t taken well by the team). But as someone who wanted to see Hamilton at Ferrari years ago, it still seems the right decision and a brave one – taking up a big challenge at numerous levels towards the end of his career.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
4th November 2024, 12:30
Lewis has nothing to lose really does he. OK he may not be what he once was, but he’s done it all already. I hope Ferrari give him a decent car and a decent chance. It would be good for him and the sport to see him with his mojo back. I agree that he has never really seemed very happy with post 2021 Mercedes. It’s always been something of a struggle and he can get a little despondent.
An Sionnach
4th November 2024, 14:12
Sometimes things just change and it’s not fair to reevaluate their careers based on how they perform later. Piquet is a good example because he dropped off so much, but was undeniably good. Schumacher retired and came back after an injury, Lewis has had extraordinary longevity, competing against, and mostly beating those who are younger. I wonder how Lewis and Max would measure up if they were the same age. I don’t think he’s done yet. You still see flashes of his race pace and his killer instinct to win. On race pace, he’s almost top of the pile. I don’t think he has everything, but what he has is the most significant thing required in modern F1. Alonso can still be brilliant, and has better racecraft, but he seems less consistent and his race pace isn’t as good. Maybe I’m not exactly right, but I think the two of them have shown amazing longevity and have a slightly different toolkit of abilities. I’d like to see them both in a competitive car again as, if this does not happen we are all just speculating.
Max is a bit like Schumacher. Brilliant and so much better than everyone else, but he has been lacking a competent opponent in a good enough car.
I’ll conclude that Prost is the greatest, because he got the best opportunity to show it (making a little mischief there!).
MichaelN
4th November 2024, 21:44
Prost has to be a contender in every such debate on the strength of his teammates alone.
Which also goes done ways to explaining why he isn’t more often respected as much as he should be; he beat a lot of people with a whole lot of fans. We’ve seen something similar with Vettel in the early 2010s. A lot of people really begrudged him that success. Those same people then went to almost comical lengths to hype up the 2017 and 2018 Ferrari, just so they could pin all the supposed problems on Vettel. Fast forward two more years, with Vettel now at the hopeless Aston Martin, and they couldn’t stop raving about what a great guy he had always been for the sport. It’s all so transparent.
José Lopes da Silva
4th November 2024, 14:59
Fullt agree. After the announcement of leaving, the driver’s performance can almost be dropped from any consideration. Hamilton “rejected” the team and is a future rival. It’s amazing that he was still able to return to victory.
Next season is the all or nothing for the post 2021-Hamilton evaluation.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th November 2024, 17:12
@banbrorace what part was car, what part was driver? Cause no one even attempted to fight Verstappen which means they assumed the car was 1 lap quicker as Norris has just said.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
4th November 2024, 14:29
Yes. Lewis seems very disinterested.
However, he has always been a team player and I think he’d like to go out on a high, if possible.
And Brazil was arguably his worst race of this career.
Maciek (@maciek)
4th November 2024, 16:48
Part of being a great sporting talent is the ability to minimize obstacles and capitalize on opportunities. No matter favourable timings, etc., Vertsappen displayed oodles of focus, control, and sheer talent to pull that off. Norris may get there, but he is not a Jedi yet.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th November 2024, 17:09
I’ll only point you to Norris’s latest comment.
Can you all be like Jorge Martin and congratulate me like he did with Pecco with the “on fire” move? That was cool and nothing compared to what happened on this forum as I battled everyone and came out on top.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
4th November 2024, 17:35
And NOR still hasn’t finished a 1st lap ahead whilst starting from pole.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
4th November 2024, 18:33
What a drive.
This is why we love Max Verstappen.
Under scrutiny, rightfully criticized for his wheel to wheel style, quite headstrong, totally ungenetlmanly driving in few of previous races… has not won in a long time, 19 drivers stacked against him, totaly fails in qualifying, penalty levied against him, starting from 17…
Then dude pulls out a Senna in Brazil. Few years ago we mused, that we should appreciate greatness when we have a chance of witnessing it, when Lewis Hamilton was 100% on top of his game, one of the greatest of all time in peak form.
Now we are seeing Max Verstappen initiating his entry in the GOAT debate, lets say entered the building and maybe somebody will give him a passing mention.
He is now alongside Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton when it comes to wet weather performances in clearly not the best car of the day he won from 17th. How many greats managed that ever?
Disclaimer: This fan still does not condone running rivals off the track.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th November 2024, 19:25
But Red Bull DOES have the best car – they just have not run it.
Everyone knows that Red Bull can win every GP until the end of 2026 with that car.
Pecco Bagnaia has the best bike – if he ran a bike that’s 0.75 seconds (the exact differential that Red Bull has) slower, they would still have the fastest bike. It’s just that they are choosing not to run it for whatever reason.
It’s like telling me that a McIntosh 1kw amp cannot handle 20 watts because you put a 20 watt limiter – it’s a 1kilowatt amp dude! Take off the limiter, boom, 1 kilowatt.