Even technical problems cannot stop him: Verstappen shows how it is done in Sao Paulo

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix delivered a fascinating spectacle, with Max Verstappen providing much of the entertainment. The Dutch champion showed that it is possible to produce a masterclass even when starting from the back row and battling technical problems. You just have to roll up your sleeves.

Verstappen has gained a total of 51 positions across the last three races in Sao Paulo, 19 of them this Sunday. This time, his task was even tougher than usual. Despite his struggles with an unruly car, Red Bull could entertain thoughts of victory in the closing stages.

Sunday was certainly more entertaining than watching the Premier League, which he had done to pass the time before qualifying. “Yeah, the first laps were fun, hectic as well, because you have to be patient,” Max Verstappen told Sky Sports with a smile. “Yeah, the first laps were fun, hectic as well, because you have to be patient.”

Hamilton and Verstappen both made superb starts, showing that their world titles were no fluke. Ferrari soon began to lose pace, however. Hamilton’s progress stalled and he began to slip back. The man who beat him to the title in 2021 continued his charge alone, with a podium in his sights.

Verstappen is simply a master in the wet, a skill he acquired back in his karting days. “You have to look for different lines, look for grip. While everyone else is driving in a line, you have to find the best part of the circuit,” he said, revealing the secret to his success.

It is not for everyone, though: it takes courage. “You know, it’s very slippery out there. Of course, you know, you’re finding grip in other places, but it’s also very easy to make a mistake. So you can look like a hero, but also very quickly you can go to zero, you know.”

Verstappen usually gets it right. This time he did so despite battling problems for almost the entire race. “So I think we did well. Yeah, I very quickly moved myself to the front. But then, yeah, unfortunately, I think something went wrong with the car. When we swapped from the inter to the soft, I had extreme amounts of oversteer in the high-speed corners.”

Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz reported during the race that, for some reason, the Red Bull was losing rear downforce. That tallies with Verstappen’s post-race assessment. “So that means that then you try to, of course, rebalance that, but that kills your front tyre.”

“So we need to understand what, yeah, I don’t want to say failed, but what actually went missing or broke on the car, because I do think there was much more in it today,” he said, suggesting Red Bull could have finished even higher. “But unfortunately, for most of the race, the car was just not working well, because when we switched back to the inter at the end, the car was at completely the opposite balance of what I had in the beginning, and that’s not possible.”

“It’s just something that probably fell off or broke,” he said, considering whether the problems were down to the aerodynamic degradation we have heard about in recent months.

Red Bull now have only a mathematical chance of catching Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. Their aim will be to hold on to third place ahead of McLaren. The two teams each scored 33 points in Sao Paulo.

“I mean, we are pushing, but other teams are pushing as well. They’re bringing new upgrades. McLaren came with upgrades here, and they seem to be working, and we want to stay ahead of them in the constructors. So that will be a good battle till the end,” he added.