After the most turbulent year of Max Verstappen’s career, he produced one of the drives of his life to silence all the noise – for now at least.
Most importantly, his victory from 17th on the grid in treacherous wet conditions at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix all but ended Lando Norris’ title challenge.
But there was more to this one, the 62nd win of the Dutchman’s Formula 1 career.
It came after two weeks of intense – and necessary – scrutiny of Verstappen’s conduct during wheel-to-wheel battles with Norris in Austin and Mexico City.
It came after a once seemingly unthinkable 10-race winless streak as Red Bull somehow went from two years of total domination to being consistently beaten by McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
It came towards the end of a season during which Verstappen has had to deal with controversies at Red Bull that had nothing to do with him, yet created major speculation over how long he will stay with the team that he is on the verge of winning a fourth successive drivers’ title with.
It came at the very moment when Norris finally appeared to be in position to break the back of a six-month quest to chase down Verstappen, and some were perhaps just starting to doubt the Dutchman.
Drive for the ages crowns defiant run
The Briton’s chances appeared the strongest they had been at any point all season when he took pole position at Interlagos after Verstappen had been knocked out of a wild rain-hit qualifying.
With the gap at the top of the standings down to 44 points after Norris’ Sprint win on Saturday, it appeared a realistic prospect that Verstappen’s advantage could by the end of the weekend be reduced to something in the region of 30 points with three rounds remaining.
That would have been a dream scenario for Norris fans, and even for neutrals, hoping to see the battle go down to the wire. Maybe even some Verstappen fans were open to the prospect of the drama following the processions of the previous two campaigns.
Instead, Verstappen surged into the top 10 after little more than a lap with a remarkable show of poise, while Norris lost his lead off the line. The script had flipped, and from that moment on there was a sense of inevitability that Norris would not make the sort of gain that had appeared possible before the lights went out.
Verstappen went further than that though, as more brilliant driving, along with a little fortune in the shape of a well-timed red flag, saw him completely turn the tables on his rival.
When the rain got too much for George Russell and Norris and they pitted from the head of the field, Verstappen survived on worn tyres to remain in position to take advantage of the safety cars and red flag that followed, and then pounced at a second rolling restart to nail a pass on Esteban Ocon at Turn 1.
In the space of just over two hours, what was developing into an all-time title battle had been ended in about the most emphatic way possible, with Verstappen taking the chequered flag almost 20 seconds clear of the field, and Norris coming home in fifth.
While the Sao Paulo display will surely go down as the most memorable, it is not Verstappen’s only great drive of the season. He out-duelled Norris when they were, at best, evenly matched for pace to claim what turned out to be crucial victories in Canada and Spain – the two events before his 10-race winless run began.
The ensuing run was challenging for Verstappen as Red Bull struggled to match the pace of their rivals. Verstappen would produce some stonking qualifying laps and gritty Sunday drives to limit the damage, earning four podiums and never finishing outside the top six during his barren run.
To put the RB20’s lack of performance in greater context, Verstappen’s struggling team-mate Sergio Perez has finished in the top six just once in the last 15 races.
His consistency and resilience in the face of adversity, albeit with some fruity expressions of frustration over team radio, ensured Norris was never able to build a huge amount of momentum in the chase. It meant that coming into the closing rounds, Verstappen really just needed one magic day to get the job done.
Will Norris clashes taint title?
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said at the start of this season that Red Bull’s apparent perfection of 2023 would likely come to an end if they were placed under more pressure by rivals.
While some of the pressure was self-inflicted, the prediction has proved more accurate than maybe even Vasseur could have imagined, as Red Bull’s performance dropped away amid an exodus of key staff, none more notable than legendary designer Adrian Newey.
However, there is one thing at Red Bull that has not wilted, and that is Verstappen – quite the opposite in fact.
The one criticism that can be levelled at the 27-year-old for his 2024 campaign is that, while he has not made driving errors under pressure, he has reverted to using some of the same tactics that damaged his reputation during his 2021 title battle with Lewis Hamilton.
There was the collision with Norris in Austria and then contentious battles to reach the apex first in Austin and Mexico City, before Verstappen was rightly penalised – and then criticised – for a momentary head-loss as he put a completely reckless move on the McLaren – also in Mexico.
His refusal in the aftermath to apologise, or at least accept he had gone too far, was disappointing but not hugely surprising.
Sporting superstars, especially in motor racing, would tend to be stubborn and uncompromising individuals, and Verstappen’s actions were not dissimilar to those of some beloved F1 champions who have gone before him.
Verstappen’s tactics are not for everybody but he is not the first and will not be the last F1 great to employ them
It is also worth noting that in the two competitive title battles he has been involved in (2021 and 2024), Verstappen has held a championship lead and therefore been in position to be the aggressor. It would be fascinating to see his approach in a title race where major contact with a rival would be more costly for him than them.
An authentic and uncompromising champion
Separate to his driving is the way Verstappen chooses to handle such incidents in the media.
His decision to play the victim and pick a fight with some of his critics on this occasion was not endearing, but, then again, the likes of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna did not have to put up with the constant nature of the modern media landscape.
Every Verstappen interview and session radio message, let alone his driving manoeuvres, are immediately analysed by thousands of passionate social media users, before being further discussed by the masses of media covering the sport both at the circuits and from all over the world.
Verstappen poked fun at the lack of “British press” in the post-race press conference for the top three in Brazil, which perhaps points to a certain level of delusion in thinking that only journalists from the country of his biggest rivals thought his Mexico moves were wrong.
Regardless, with the amount of criticism he has had to contend with since 2021, it is completely understandable that there might be a chip on his shoulder.
Somewhat ironically, moments like the one in Sunday’s press conference are what endear most British journalists – or at least this one – to Verstappen.
At a time when the majority of sporting stars have been exhaustively media trained and will rarely deviate from the script, the Dutchman’s honesty and willingness to say what he thinks is hugely refreshing.
Once more, agree with him or not, Verstappen’s ongoing swearing row with the FIA, in which he is fighting hard for his right to express himself, is another example of both his authenticity and uncompromising nature.
As Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle has long maintained, if there was a driver from the current crop you could choose to go to the pub with, it would almost undoubtedly be the world champion.
Verstappen’s position of power
A question that has repeatedly been asked over the last couple of years is whether Verstappen has become too powerful at Red Bull.
That came up once more after the Mexico City incident, with some suggesting it was the responsibility of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to let Verstappen know such moves are not acceptable.
While, in fairness to Horner, he did not argue against the penalty Verstappen received for the incident, his overall stance was to be highly defensive of his driver. This is what you would expect in public from any team principal, but there is a sense Red Bull would not dare question Verstappen’s driving in private either.
And quite frankly, who can blame them? With there having been signs Hamilton may be on the decline, there is no driver anywhere close to Verstappen’s league right now.
That is why Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is desperate to sign him, and Horner would be foolish to do anything that gave Verstappen any reason to feel as though he does not have Red Bull’s total and utter backing.
The aggressive driving, the fruity language, a demanding management team – are all part of the Max Verstappen package – but his brilliance puts those factors where his rivals often sit – in the rear mirror.
When later this month Verstappen becomes the sport’s sixth driver to reach four titles, either in Las Vegas or if not then almost certainly in Qatar a week later, it will serve as confirmation of his status as the sport’s clear top dog at this moment.
For some, there may be a few footnotes at that moment, and come the end of his career however many more titles later, but for better or worse, Max Verstappen will not care.
Formula 1 returns after a three-week break with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 22-24, live on Sky Sports F1. Get Sky Sports F1 to watch every race and more live