Max Verstappen wins the Brazilian GP, almost securing his fourth world title. A perfect race, which the Dutchman strongly dominated after the second restart of the safety car, caused by Sainz's accident. A complete reversal of what had been the sprint Saturday, which will allow Verstappen to manage his advantage over Norris in the next three races.
Verstappen returns as winner in Brazil. Norris and McLaren cancelled
It was supposed to be McLaren's weekend and Lando Norris's assault on the first position in the world championship. None of this: the tables were turned with all the cards on them. All thanks to the driving and talent of Max Verstappen, who did not let himself be unnerved by the situation he found himself in at the start, after a qualifying that saw him eliminated in Q2. The start was extraordinary, with a triple overtaking on the outside just after coming down from the "S" of Senna. A maneuver similar to the one he had already carried out to the detriment of Nico Rosberg's Mercedes in 2016.
After that it was a continuous overtaking, arriving behind Charles Leclerc in fifth position. Epic the overtaking on Oscar Piastri, which saw the Dutchman delay braking a lot to pass him in turn 1 under the rain of the Sao Paulo sky. Finally, the key moment that turned the Dutchman's race around was when he decided, together with the team, not to return to the pits before the red flag. A choice that led him to restart the race after the downpour in second position between Gasly and Ocon who was leading the race. Finally, after the safety car caused by Sainz, Verstappen overtook the Frenchman and settled into the lead of the race, setting 17 fastest laps until the finish line.
Verstappen has thus put his signature on a race that will be considered historic, on a par with other extraordinary wet performances that belong to the greats of this sport. And yet, the weekend had not started on these notes. During the sprint Verstappen made a mistake, once again, as in Mexico, due to too much haste. In fact, after marking Piastri too much under the Virtual Safety Car, Verstappen lost third position due to a five-second penalty. Finally, further pressure came after the qualifications, which saw it come out already in Q2. The number 1 of the Red Bull, however, he managed to transform anger into powerful energy. Demonstrating once again the difference between a good driver, Norris, and a true world champion.
Verstappen elated at the finish line: “today we were flying”
Max Verstappen thus earns his 62nd career victory in the rain. This time, however, he did not hold back once he had parked his Red Bull in the parc fermé. The Dutchman immediately ran to hug his team, probably aware that he had seriously got his hands on what will be his fourth world title. A seal placed with strength and talent under everyone's eyes, arrived after a terrible race in Mexico and despite the difficulties he had had up until shortly before the race.My emotions have been like a roller coaster. I had so much bad luck in qualifying with the red flag. I started from seventeenth position and I knew it was going to be a very tough race. But we stayed out of trouble, we stayed calm and then we flew. All these things together made this result possible”.
An extraordinary comeback, which is very reminiscent of the victory obtained by Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren in the 2005 Japanese GP. That time, he too had started from seventeenth place. “Really amazing to win here starting so far back“. This is how Verstappen expressed his amazement at the end of the race, aware of a feat that began right from the first corner after the start. “Here, with the new asphalt, there is only one path to take to get over. I knew I had to attack there. It was easy to block too and I tried to find the right balance. I had so much faith in the brakes and turn 1 is always good for overtaking".
