Brundle responds to Norris’ ‘lucky’ claim with Verstappen ‘in a class of one’

Martin Brundle believes Lando Norris will change his view of Max Verstappen getting slightly “lucky” during the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the Red Bull driver was “in a class of one” on Sunday.

Verstappen rose from 17th on the grid to take an unlikely victory in wet conditions at Interlagos, with Norris slipping to sixth place after starting from pole position – and the timing of a red flag stoppage leading Norris to his claim of Verstappen having luck on his side.

Martin Brundle: Max Verstappen ‘in a class of one’ during Brazilian GP win

Norris had already pitted for fresh intermediate tyres as more rain fell on Sunday, with Verstappen opting to stay out along with both Alpine drivers.

When Williams driver Franco Colapinto crashed under Safety Car conditions, the red flags were waved and Verstappen was able to change tyres while maintaining second place on track, which turned into the lead when he overtook Esteban Ocon at Turn 1.

He escaped up the road with a succession of fastest laps to eventually win by 19 seconds, in a performance Brundle described as a “classic drive” on Sunday.

While Norris had initially said it was “not talent, just luck” that helped Verstappen on Sunday, he has since congratulated the World Championship leader on Instagram by commenting: “Nice drive mate” under a post celebrating his victory.

When asked on Sky Sports News if Norris will reassess his ‘lucky’ verdict upon rewatching the race, Brundle replied: “Yes, I do think he will, because Max was in a class of one; those conditions suit his talent level.

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“McLaren wasn’t the fastest car in the rain, which is a bit surprising, because they looked so good in qualifying in wet conditions.

“Max got unlucky with the red flag in qualifying, but he stayed out on track in the race and expected a Safety Car or a red flag situation, so he knew what to do, and then he just steamed off and won by 19 seconds at a canter, really.

“It was a classic drive, and I think Formula 1 did really well to get the race underway and finished, actually.”

With Verstappen having now opened up a 62-point lead heading into the final three rounds, the Red Bull driver is now the hot favourite to take a fourth consecutive title

“I think he just needs to extract the maximum out of himself and McLaren and his car and see how where he ends up, to be honest,” Brundle said.

“I think if he starts focusing on one team or driver or the other, that’s a lot of wasted energy. He needs prepare himself for a championship challenge for next year, which we know is going to be an all-time classic, a season for the ages because the cars have reached their peak of development, and they’ve sort of hit the ceiling a bit and we know how close everything’s going to be next year.

“So that’s his focus: Just goes fast as he can, as long as he can and and see what happens. Anything else will just be a distraction.”

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