DU-DU-DUDU-MAX VERSTAPPEN
Brazil, you beauty.
Don’t let the title of this post fool you; it may talk about a Max Verstappen masterclass, but I firmly believe that George Russell should’ve won this. I agree with Norris; this race win was “just luck.” Hold your horses; there is a “however” coming: I do NOT think “luck” means “no talent.” I wouldn’t be a George Russell fan if I did (ahem, Austria).
Let’s begin on Sunday morning. The qualifying, not the race. Yes, qualifying was on Sunday, with the paddock opening at 4:00 am local time. Yikes. That start time is almost enough to make me reconsider my future career goals. Qualifying will require another post, so I’m not getting into that in detail.
To summarise, Norris took pole but had to get through 5 red flags in a 1 hour, 45-minute session. Max Verstappen, having qualified 12th, was unable to complete his lap after a red flag was called quite late1 in Q2, lined up at 17th because of a 5-place grid penalty due to a power unit change, but then slotted into 16th because Lance Stroll crashed out on the formation lap on a wet track. I’m exhausted just reading that sentence….and the race hasn’t even started yet.
It will not start in another paragraph or two because there was a starting procedure infringement. While Stroll crashed out, managed to get his car going again, and then accidentally drove it into the gravel—what on earth was he doing—the rest of the drivers had come around the final corner and settled into their grid spots, ready to go. Stroll’s Aston Martin needed to get out of the way, but they couldn’t just have the cars sit on the grid waiting for their brakes and tyres to lose all temperature and function in the rain. Hence, an aborted start was called. Now, this is where the confusion occurred. In a seemingly unprecedented scenario, Norris, after getting the message on his dashboard, set off on a second formation lap, taking Russell and a whole host of cars from the front of the grid with him. However, a couple of driver further down the grid, including Verstappen were under the impression that an aborted start meant the cars would stay where they were, and the engineers and mechanics would come back onto the track, essentially recreating the standard situation before a lights-out. In the end, they turned out to be correct, with the drivers that set off on the formation lap being investigated and receiving a fine after the race, Norris being the prime suspect. The threat of investigation clouded his entire race, however he managed to escape without a time penalty.
Phew. Technical regulations aside, let’s get into the race. Finally.
For the 4th, maybe the 5th time—I’ve lost count—Norris lost the lead of the race on the first lap.
This time, it wasn’t to Verstappen, or a Ferrari, or to his teammate in the 2nd Mclaren, but to George Russell, whose Mercedes looked tricky to control at best, and at worst, straight up “undrivable” (Lewis Hamilton’s words, not mine). It was a decent start from Norris, who was ahead of Russell, but he just seemed more tentative on the brakes, while George went flying through the first corner into the race’s lead. This was how it would stay until the first round of pit stops.
Meanwhile, Verstappen made a BRILLIANT start from the back of the grid, going up to 10th in the space of as many laps. For those who didn’t watch the race, it was a pure wet-weather masterclass with every overtake. Max had so much confidence braking down the inside into the first corner while those he was passing were trying their best to stay on the track. Even a blind man could see the staggering difference in skill and mentality. It reminded me of Hamilton driving in the wet a couple years ago….when he had a half-decent car. Soon enough, Verstappen was stuck to the back of Charles Leclerc, just about 10 seconds off the lead Mercedes.
Then, all hell broke loose.
Frantic and argumentative team radios, strategies changing by the millisecond, teams and drivers having opposing opinions—this is why we motorsport fans love rainy weather. All it took for the increasingly stagnant race order to shuffle was an ever-so-slight increase in the intensity of the rain. Suddenly, the fragile balance the drivers had found between grip, speed and tyre temperature was thrown off-kilter. Mclaren and Mercedes began ordering Norris and Russell to pit for fresh, warmer, grippier tyres. Norris complied, but Russell had second thoughts. Well, really, he just straight-up disagreed. A virtual safety car had been called because of the rainy conditions, and Russell was sure a red flag would be on its way. He thought they should wait out the rain and struggle through the low-grip conditions to keep his position on track in the lead of the race. Eventually, the pressure from the team was strong enough to make him box….and that turned out to be the wrong decision, as a red flag was called almost immediately after, with Colapinto crashing out. C’mon, Mercedes, when will you start listening to your drivers?!?
This played right into the hands of Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Max Verstappen, who had peeled past the pitlane into the podium positions of the race while the top 2 were in for their pitstops. From the restart, it was the Max Verstappen show again, catching and overtaking Gasly and Ocon incredibly efficiently and ending the race nearly 20 seconds ahead of Ocon in 2nd. Thus, Verstappen managed to convert what was going to be a race of damage limitation into a race where he extended his championship lead by a HUGE margin.
Can we take a moment to appreciate the sheer drama of this race? Sao Paulo always delivers when it comes to on-track action. I’ve barely ever mentioned the shock double podium for Alpine; Verstappen’s race alone has been so incredibly captivating. Max started the weekend with the disadvantage of a slower car and a 5-place grid penalty and ended the race with 22 extra points on his closest championship challenger, who, by the way, had the help of the fastest car and had bstarted on pole position. Looking back, Max Verstappen would always be the race winner. It was destiny. The Brazilian rain gods decreed it so, and so it would be.
The motorsport gods seem to have prophecised the same. The gap between Verstappen and Norris is 62 points. There are 3 races to go. If Verstappen crashes out every race, and Norris manages to win every race and sprint…. that’s not impossible, but it is highly improbable. I think Brazil has all but decided our 2024 World Champion.
It’s unfortunate for Lando Norris. This race win was “just luck.” Still, what was that saying? Oh yes, “champions manufacture their own luck.” There could not be more substantial evidence than this race that Max Verstappen is a champion in every sense of the word.
Now, I don’t think there was anything suspicious about that; it was just bad luck. I believe the procedure was to let the cars who had started a lap and were past the crash site complete their laps before throwing the red flag. Verstappen just happened to be behind the Ferrari when it crashed; hence, the red flag was thrown before he could finish the lap he was on.
you had me in the first para......