MAX Verstappen’s drive at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix has been hailed as one of the best of his career, as he surged from 17th to 1st, in some of the most challenging conditions in recent years.
After being knocked out of qualifying in 12th place, whilst also taking a five-place grid penalty, most people saw this as an opportunity for Lando Norris, who was starting on pole, to further close the gap to the Red Bull driver, which was 45 points before the race.
However, the Dutchman was the only driver to properly get to grips with the extremely wet conditions, masterfully carving his way through the pack, gaining eleven places in just twelve laps.
Luck then fell the way of the 27 year-old, as Norris pitted on lap 30, dropping behind his rival, a red flag was thrown two laps later, with Verstappen who hadn’t pit yet, getting a free tyre change and keeping track position on Norris.
Harry Smith, a correspondent at the Daily Express, argues that without the red flag, the race between the two championship contenders would have been much closer.
“Of course, the red flag did play into Verstappen’s hands, I think there is an argument to be made that Norris could have given him a run for his money if the race had stayed green, but alas it didn’t, and from that point onwards, there was no touching him.”
The three time world champion then dispatched Esteban Ocon on lap 42 after the second safety car restart, before cruising to a 19-second victory.
The performance helped put him on the brink of his fourth world championship, which can theoretically be secured in Las Vegas.
If successful, he will pass Ayrton Senna and tie Sebastian Vettel for world championships, which will cement the Dutchman’s place as an all-time great, if he isn’t one already.
Adam Sanderson, a star and a key figure of the F1’s games, claims Verstappen should be regarded as one of the sports greatest drivers.
‘It depends what you class as an all-time great, but I, regardless of how you define it, would certainly put him in that category.
“He might have had the best car for numerous years, but you’ve got to have the cool head and the driving ability to put it on pole and win a race.
“Just look at his teammates, they could have challenged him, but he was head and shoulders above all of them, it’s that winning mentality that cements his place for me.”
We’ve witnessed some incredible wet-weather performances in the past, such as Michael Schumacher’s drive at Catalunya in 1996 and Lewis Hamilton’s at Silverstone in 2008, performances like these separate the best from the rest and Verstappen’s performances time and time again have proven he truly is, one of the greats.
