Brundle astonished by dominant Verstappen: 'This will go down in the history books'
In his column for Sky Sports, Martin Brundle took an extensive look at Max Verstappen’s impressive charge through the field during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
“It was a race for the history books”- Martin Brundle
Verstappen started from the pit lane, but still managed to fight his way onto the podium.
According to Brundle, it was one of the best performances of his career.
"Verstappen started from the pit lane because his car looked so dreadful in qualifying that it was better to try something completely different with the setup and fit a new engine,” Brundle writes.
“That’s how one of the most impressive races ever began, slicing through a field that was closer than ever, and all in completely dry conditions.”
According to the former F1 driver, Verstappen made optimal use of the chaos in the opening laps: "He avoided all the incidents between Sainz, Hamilton, Stroll and Bortoleto. The safety car helped him close the gap to the leaders, and he soon found himself in the thick of the pack. But then he got a puncture and had to pit.”
Brundle impressed by Verstappen
As a result, Verstappen fell far back, but he was able to attack on fresh rubber. “From that moment on, he was lightning fast. He was clinical in his overtakes and relentless in his pace. It quickly became clear that a podium was within reach, and within a few laps essentially inevitable,” the British analyst continues his praise.
Brundle emphasizes that Verstappen’s performance wasn’t down to circumstances, but purely to speed and skill: “It was a race for the history books - he didn’t achieve this because it rained, or because he benefited from red flags like last year, but through pure pace in the most competitive field Formula 1 has ever known.”
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Red Bull also made the right strategic calls, according to him. In the closing stages, Verstappen switched to a new set of softs that he had left because he was knocked out in Q1 during Saturday’s qualifying. “Those soft tyres had to last seventeen laps, and from the moment he exited the pit lane he went flat out,” Brundle continues.
In the end, Lando Norris won the race with a ten-second margin. The McLaren driver admitted that Verstappen probably would have won the race if he had started further up the grid. Brundle fully agrees: “Norris led unchallenged, but never had a truly comfortable gap. If Max had started at the front with a trouble-free car, he probably would have won this race.”
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