Dutch Expert Analysts Agree: 'Taunted Verstappen Is Best Verstappen'

Tuesday, 24 December 2024 at 17:00

Giedo van der Garde, Christijan Albers, and Tom Coronel discussed Max Verstappen's performance at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Speaking during Viaplay's 2024 season review, Dutch expert analysts, former f1 drivers Christijan Albers, Giedo van der Garde, and professional racing driver Tom Coronel returned to Max Verstappen's 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix masterclass.

Verstappen faced a lot of pressure during the weekend in Sao Paulo. The preceding weekend in Mexico City, he had a controversial battle with Lando Norris, for which he received a lot of criticism.

On top of that, Verstappen was caught out by an unlucky red flag in the qualifying session, and an added penalty for a new engine meant that he had to start the race from P17.

However, as we now know, nothing and no one could stop the 27-year-old during that race weekend. He went on to win the race by more than 19 seconds, ahead of the driver in second place. Giedo van der Garde said:

"Verstappen just doesn't care about anybody at all."

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The Red Bull Racing F1 driver was particularly irritated after the qualifying in Brazil, as he felt the timing of the red flag was unfair. However, Tom Coronel believes it was a factor that ultimately made him faster on Sunday:

"A taunted Verstappen, that's the best Verstappen. If you make him angry, he does things no one else can."

"In the rain, Verstappen just knows where to find the grip. It's unbelievable. He drives lines that nobody else drives. He does things no one else does."

Speaking to the media right after the Grand Prix, Lando Norris said Verstappen's victory was down to luck more than the skill itself, though the McLaren driver retracted that statement at the FIA prize-giving ceremony.

Christijan Albers suggested it's not as easy as just saying Verstappen was lucky because the Dutchman consciously made the decision to stay out on track, expecting there would be a red flag. He added:

"Luck, you also have to create, they sometimes say, for example, behind the safety car. But after that, he really did show that he was the fastest on the track."

Max Verstappen later named the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix one of the best performances of his career. He also added that the race in Brazil was what decided the 2024 Championship title fight.