Max Verstappen, heroic tightrope walker in the rain

Rain reveals the champions of Formula 1. Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton… to name just a few, all the great drivers of the discipline have at one time or another left their mark on a slippery track. With the notable exception, perhaps, of Alain Prost, four-time world champion who, before thinking about attacking, would decide himself whether the safety conditions were good enough to race in the rain.

A major chapter of his season /f1/news/21535-brazil-race-epic-scenario-hamilton-still-in-the-running.html: an extraordinary driving performance!

Max Verstappen will therefore remain the hero of this Brazilian round. On the legendary Interlagos track, the former Toro Rosso driver once again demonstrated confident and assertive driving. While four drivers retired after a crash in the last sector (Jolyon Palmer collided with Daniil Kyvat), Max Verstappen made the most of these very tricky conditions.

By making the most of his young karting years, the Dutchman used alternative lines in the rain, particularly outside the ideal line in the corners. The most striking example is his overtake on Rosberg on lap 32, all the way outside at the exit of Senna’s S. A brilliant overtake demonstrating a race led with relentless pace, rewarded by this podium, his seventh personal one, already. The main concerned party did not fail to highlight the uniqueness of this performance: « When I crossed the line at the end, it felt like a victory – it was almost as beautiful as the Barcelona race! I could even hear the crowd going wild when my engineer got on the radio! »

Wronged by his team and this three-stop strategy, switching to intermediate tires dropped him to 14th place on the 54th lap. After fitting wet tires for his final stint, he completed the last 16 laps at a frenetic pace, climbing back up to third position!

But if one sees the glass as half-empty, would victory have been possible without these mistakes? The driver born in Belgium mostly focused on the positives: “Maybe it wasn’t possible, but I think second place was. Sometimes you have to take risks to win, that’s what we tried. It didn’t work out, but I’m still on the podium with some great overtakes, so I’m a happy person!”

Everything started very well during the official start of this Grand Prix. On the eighth lap, Verstappen dove to the inside at the entrance of the Senna esses and overtook Kimi Räikkönen to seize third place. The driver wearing number 33 shared his triumphant strategy with journalists: « For the first overtaking, I tried to find different trajectories, I found one and since I knew Kimi wasn’t going to take it, I had a good chance to overtake him. I dove into the spray and passed him on the inside. »

After that, the 19-year-old man almost ended up in correctional at the 39th lap, going sideways in that terrible uphill curve towards the start/finish line. But very skillfully, the Spanish Grand Prix winner treated us to a very nice save, putting the throttle back on just in time before hitting the wall: « I was trying to follow Lewis, but I had a tough moment in the last corner – I was very lucky not to hit the wall! »

How to recover a drifting F1 at over 200 km/h in the rain? Ask @Max33Verstappen 😎 ▶ https://t.co/dpC8fkhXse pic.twitter.com/iXGNrhyMX6

— Red Bull France (@Red BullFrance) 14 November

But of course, the overtake of the race will remain the one on Rosberg, exiting the third corner, battling for grip in the water spray. It could even be the overtake of the season!

A controversial overtake against Vettel?

This fantastic comeback was accompanied by a bit of controversy, once again involving Vettel. Two weeks after the Mexico clash, the two drivers found themselves neck and neck in the final sector. It was indeed the Red Bull driver who gained the upper hand on his Ferrari rival going into “Junção” and the twelfth corner. In the maneuver, there was no room for both drivers: it was Vettel who had to concede, with all four wheels on the grass. The four-time world champion complained about this action to the journalists, considering that it was not fair.

However, no investigation was conducted against Verstappen. He was able to continue on his way and finish with a flourish by overtaking Pérez three laps from the finish, executed in several stages. First, getting alongside the Mexican on the outside in the tenth corner, he fought hard without giving an inch before taking the inside line at the braking point of the twelfth corner. To top it off, beyond securing this third-place finish, he also achieved his first fastest lap of the race, becoming the youngest driver to accomplish such a feat.

Praise rolling in for @Max33Verstappen – and some awards. Your #F1 Driver Of The Day gets the #BrazilGP DHL Fastest Lap Award, too pic.twitter.com/8yiJeSy6pv

— Formula 1 (@F1) 13 novembre /f1/actualite/21535-bresil-course-scenario-epique-hamilton-toujours-en-lice-.html

An unanimous and amazed paddock!

Obviously, this third place was praised by the main players of the F1 Circus. Already amazed by the exploits of his former protégé Sebastian Vettel, Christian Horner was full of praise for the race of his new prodigy: « His comeback was fantastic! It was one of the best drives I’ve seen in Formula 1. We gave him a massive deficit, the way he drove those last 15 laps was incredible! » Compliments all the more deserved as this third place secures his team second place in the final constructors’ standings, ahead of Ferrari.

CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS@redbullracing guaranteed P2

2009 was the last #F1 season when every team scored at least one point#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/RujFW4JocB

— Formula 1 (@F1) 14 novembre /f1/actualite/21535-bresil-course-scenario-epique-hamilton-toujours-en-lice-.html

Referring to Toto Wolff’s controversial call to his father Jos Verstappen, the director of the Austrian team even made a jab about the overtake on Rosberg: “This one is for Toto. Once again, it was incredibly brave, he went on the outside and held his line with almost zero visibility.”

As a reminder, last week, the paddock was stirred by a call from the Executive Director of Mercedes Motorsport, who had called Jos Verstappen to send a message to Max not to interfere in the title fight between Rosberg and Hamilton. But gracious as ever, Toto Wolff pointed out that this race was the Verstappen show! It was truly incredible driving, a superb entertainment. The laws of physics were redefined!

These praises were shared at Mercedes by the non-executive director, the triple world champion Niki Lauda:

« He did a very impressive job. I already knew this boy well, but he proved to everyone what he can do! »

Even Jos Verstappen was amazed by his son’s performance: “I must say he surprised me today! I’ve obviously seen most of his races, but today (yesterday) it was incredible. He gave me great pleasure. It’s good for Formula 1, everyone is excited. What more could you want?”

In any case, this sensational race by Max Verstappen did not fail to elicit a reaction from fans of the discipline. Logically, the Red Bull driver won both the Driver of the Day title on the official Formula 1 website and in our poll published last night. Even though we lack hindsight, we have certainly witnessed a performance that will mark a significant date in the Dutch driver’s career.

From dark hero in Mexico to the new rain master status in Interlagos, one thing is certain: Verstappen continues to captivate the world of Formula 1. Whether Toto Wolff likes it or not, will he now play the role of luxury referee in Abu Dhabi in two weeks?

An incredible race with an amazing comeback to the podium! Hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did 😃 #BrazilGP #keeppushing pic.twitter.com/wbq5uh8Xsq

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) 13 novembre /f1/actualite/21535-bresil-course-scenario-epique-hamilton-toujours-en-lice-.html