Max Verstappen’s Masterclass

Last year at the São Paulo Grand Prix the grid was experiencing torrential downpours which brought much chaos, however one driver, the reigning world champion Max Verstappen, transformed in the wet. 

Going into Sunday the grid was looking at conditions of 60% chance rain however it got quickly upgraded to 100% as it was pouring from Saturday on. The conditions on Saturday led to the qualifying session being postponed to Sunday, the first time that has happened since the Japanese Grand Prix in 2019. Max Verstappen qualified for the twelfth position and due to exceeding the use of allocated power unit components was handed a five place grid penalty, starting his race from seventeenth. 

The chaos started before the first lap of the grand prix even began with Lance Stroll crashing on the formation lap. On the second attempt of a formation lap Lando Norris was noted for infringement of the starting procedures by not waiting for the green lights. There was much more chaos throughout the rest of the race in which Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto, and Carlos Sainz did not finish the race to add on to Stroll’s earlier retirement. Notably, Nico Hulkenberg got disqualified from the race because he got marshal assistance when regaining the track after beaching his car. 

As usual, the wet race brought a lot of unexpected events. The grand prix saw to two Alpines, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, on the podium. However, the reigning world champion had no issue coming to life in the wet environment. Verstappen spent the grand prix overtaking his way into a fighting position and with the inconsistent strategies among other teams fought his way into first place. He took what he had and made it into a learning opportunity for drivers to come. The drive from seventeenth to first was a great show of the champion’s skill and the team’s ability to call the right decisions when under pressure. 

A notable part of his drive in the wet were his significant overtakes in the first lap. He made up six positions in the first lap, getting to a position better than his original qualifying. Verstappen slowly picked off driver by driver in the early stages of the grand prix before the many yellow flags came to disrupt. Some of the disruptions were beneficial to Verstappen, such as when race leaders Lando Norris and George Russell went in for a cheap pit stop under a VSC just before the race got red flagged, giving all other drivers a chance for a free pit stop. 

Brazil 2024 is just a display of some of the Champion’s skill and his ability to make the best out of a poor situation. It was crucial towards the championship fight and added to his gap over Norris before he secured his fourth World Drivers Championship at the Vegas Grand Prix later in the season. Max Verstappen continues to prove he deserves his titles and is ready for more to come.