Making comparisons, one of the differences between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri was perfectly represented this weekend in Brazil. While the former has a lot of magic to remedy the troubles that Red Bull got him into, the latter gets into puddles alone despite the superiority that the McLaren he drives gives him. Del Work that the Dutchman had to hit himself, and Lando Norris, who has a couple of big prizes in piledriver mode, took advantage of the blow to the foot hit by the second player, creating a chance for himself to be crowned world champion. Many things have been said about the English. Some are probably true; others, really crazy stuff. Even though he was born in a golden cradle, surrounded by everything needed to get where he is, that doesn’t take away even an ounce of credit from his performance on the last few dates, in which he has rebuilt his chances of becoming the main favorite with only three stages left on the calendar before the World Cup closes, in Abu Dhabi, in December. This time, Interlagos did not decide the championship as it has done six times in history, but it left things very difficult for the Somerset runner.
Norris did everything right in a test full of tricks; with the weather uncertainty that usually turns this race into a road race, multiplied by two in an event that also featured a sprint, on Saturday. The competition leader achieved an absolute performance by scoring his first one-two of the course, in addition to pole position. This season is full of inertia and the three still fighting for the title have had their moment. The beginning of the course was for Piastri; Verstappen has put his boots on after the summer and now it’s time for Norris, who has amassed two wins in the last three races – seven in total – to create a 24-point safety margin at the top of the overall standings, with 83 left to give. Even if his first pursuer is Piastri, the tremor that travels with the Australian damages his self-esteem in the same proportion as his chances of winning the alirón. If his Saturday ended against the barriers, he did only slightly better on Sunday, due to the confusion that occurred on the first restart of the race (lap 6), in which he misjudged his aggression and caused a collision with Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc which ended with the Monegasque off the track. That poor vision earned him a ten-second penalty that eliminated him from a second-place position that he had plenty within reach given the circumstances, and which saw him cross the finish line in fifth place. A missed opportunity to add further tension to the clash, especially given the obstacles with which Mad Max began.
Watching the reigning champion is a joy, but it’s almost more joyful when he doesn’t win than when he wins. This time, Red Bull’s monumental cake revolved around a car that was going backwards on Saturday, to the point that the Red Buffalo team decided to get their hands on it, changing engine and set-up, even if this led to the Hasselt driver having to start 19th, and from the workshop lane. With four titles under his belt, and with the deserved label of being one of the best drivers ever, Verstappen has a lot of fun with challenges like these, which lead him to bring out all the magic he has inside and rebel against everything that is put in front of him.
The departure from the catacombs was combined with a puncture on the first gear, which relegated him to last place, from where he activated a passionate comeback that led him to finish third, after visiting the garage three times and overtaking almost everyone who crossed his path. He almost couldn’t beat Antonelli, who defended himself like a lion to get his second podium in F1 and his best result. Carlos Sainz ranked 13th and Fernando Alonso, 14th.
