Image by Sandor Foszto from Pixabay
By Molly Fairhurst
Max Verstappen demonstrated a wet-weather masterclass in Brazil this weekend, taking his Red Bull from P17 to P1 in a race plagued with poor weather and safety cars.
The Interlagos circuit spent the weekend under a near-constant cover of rain.
Qualifying was cancelled on Saturday due to the torrential rain that flooded the track.
The session took place on Sunday morning just five hours before the race.
Drivers hit the soaking track to poor visibility, with even seasoned drivers struggling to set a decent time.
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes didn’t make it out of Q1, qualifying just P14 after Verstappen’s engine penalty took him down to P17.
The race start was plagued with confusion when Lance Stroll beached his Aston Martin during the formation lap.
Lando Norris and George Russell vied for the top spot from the start, with Russell’s Mercedes taking the lead into the first corner.
Verstappen took full advantage of the chaotic midfield to weave through the pack as drivers struggled to retain control of their cars on the sodden track.
He found his fortune when a virtual safety car was deployed by Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, stopping at the side of the track and the race leaders pitted.
As a full safety car deployed due to worsening conditions, newcomer Franco Colapinto lost control of his Williams.
The Argentinian was quick to ascertain he was safe however the car’s debrief field led to a red flag.
This played straight into the hands of Max and the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, who had yet to pit and would now restart the race in the podium places with fresh tyres.
During the red flag, Hülkenberg was shown the first black flag since June 2007 for receiving assistance getting back onto the track.
The black flag was last waved in Canada with a rare double disqualification for Fisichella and Massa.
The rolling restart saw Ocon keep hold of the league, and Norris lost position even further after leaving the track during a tussle with fellow Brit Russell.
Ferrari’s woes continued even further when Sainz hit the barriers in lap 40, with yet another safety car being deployed in the tumultuous race.
Verstappen took full advantage during the restart, sneaking his Red Bull past Alpine’s Ocon and into P1 on lap 43.
The World Champion managed to keep hold of the lead for the rest of the race, however his teammate saw yet another poor result.
Sergio Perez’s spate of poor results continued as he finished just outside the points in P11.
With the 34-year-old’s continued lack of performance and the stronger results shown by the junior drivers of the sister team, rumours continue to swirl about the safety of his seat for next season.
Sky Sports reporter and former driver Karun Chandrok suggested an interesting theory for a switch-up next season which would see Williams retain Colapinto and Red Bull reuniting Verstappen with former teammate Carlos Sainz.
He said: “Hmm… If I was Horner, I would be negotiating a price to get Carlos Sainz into the big team and let Williams keep Colapinto,
“Yes yes, the Max camp apparently don’t want him but it’s been a decade since they were teammates (get over it!) and this year has shown they need two drivers scoring.”
Sainz is currently set to move to Williams at the end of this season, leaving the rookie Argentinian without a seat.