Brundle: Verstappen's Sao Paulo GP charge a drive for the ages

Indeed, Verstappen continues to stun with his genius behind the wheel every time he jumps into an F1 car, and his charge up the order in Sao Paulo last weekend was another example of the Dutchman's prowess, who at 28 years of age still improves and seems far from reaching the peak of his powers.

The reigning F1 Champion qualified 16th on a weekend when his Red Bull Racing team couldn't find the proper setup for their RB21, but they opted to start Verstappen from the pitlane after breaking parc ferme conditions for a different setup as well as giving him a new power unit.

Had it not been for a puncture early in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and the impressively stubborn defense from Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli towards the end, Verstappen may have finished second, and who knows, maybe challenged Norris for the win, but that we can never know...

In his post-Sao Paulo Grand Prix column on Sky Sports F1, he reflected on Verstappen's drive but first had some words of praise for the Mercedes rookie who denied the reigning F1 Champion second place.

Brundle wrote: "Nineteen-year-old Antonelli had a stellar weekend, a real breakthrough to follow up on his fine performance two weeks earlier in Mexico.

"With two front-row starts, he kept Norris more than honest in the 24-lap Sprint to claim second place, and then in the main race survived the chaos and kept his head impressively well to detain Verstappen, who was driving like a man possessed all race, behind him in the closing stages for another second place.

"Max tried every distraction trick, but Kimi kept his head," Brundle pointed out.

As for Verstappen, the veteran of 158 Grands Prix said his performance was "one of the all-time great drives through a closely-matched pack in what would be entirely dry conditions", saying that the Red Bull ace was "clinical in his moves and relentless with his speed".

"It was a drive for the ages," Brundle trumpeted, "and not because it was wet or that he [Verstappen] aced a red flag-free tyre change in a similarly mesmerising drive at this track last year, but on sheer pace through the most competitive field in F1 history."

Norris, the race winner, lamented after the race in Sao Paulo that his McLaren did not have enough speed, admitting he was surprised with Verstappen's result and the fact that he couldn't break free from the chasing pack, as was the case in Mexico when he was around half a minute clear of his rivals at the chequered flag.

Brundle concurred; he wrote: "Out front Norris was serene but at no time did he have a comfort zone to Mercedes or the charging Verstappen.

"If Max had started up front with a healthy car you'd have to say he would most likely have won the race. As it was, he was only 10.7 seconds behind at the flag," the 66-year-old concluded.