After the chaos of Saturday’s postponed Qualifying session for the 2024 Sao Paulo GP, Sunday started on a horrendous note for championship leader, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman’s title ambitions took a mighty hit when he was knocked out of Q2. After the session, both Verstappen and Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner slammed the way that the FIA had handled the red flag that eventually led to Verstappen’s fate.
With very little time remaining on the board, Verstappen needed to improve on his lap time to progress to Q3. However, that is when Lance Stroll crashed his AMR24. Double-waved yellows meant Verstappen had to abandon his lap but race control called a red flag almost a minute after the incident. With only 40 seconds left on the clock, the session did not resume and the #1 driver had to bow out of Q2 itself.
The 27-year-old was furious after this, even terming the delayed red flag as “unbelievable”. That said, The Race’s Josh Suttill argues that even if the red flag came out in time, Verstappen would have still not progressed into the top-10 shootout.
Verstappen very unhappy about the red flag on Sky: “The car hits the wall, it needs to be a straight red. I don’t understand why it needs to take 30, 40 seconds for a red flag to come out. It’s just bullshit.” #F1 #BrazilGP
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) November 3, 2024
He explained that the timing of Stroll’s crash meant that the FIA could have called the earliest red flag with only 1 minute and 30 seconds remaining. Firstly, that isn’t the ideal time for an out lap once the session resumes — obviously affecting the Dutchman’s tire preparations for his final flying effort.
Secondly, because Red Bull’s garage is the farthest from the pit exit, he would have struggled with traffic when on his out lap. With a time crunch, there was virtually no chance that Verstappen would have set a lap time at all let alone improve on his time.
In the end, with an impending five-place grid penalty for a new power unit, the #1 driver started the Grand Prix, later that day, from P17 on the grid. Sensationally, though, he gained nine places on the first lap.
From there on, the Dutchman treated the fans in attendance at Interlagos with a masterclass in wet weather driving. Strategic prowess from Red Bull’s side saw him take the lead and then Verstappen won the race (his first since the 2024 Spanish GP) with a staggering 19-second lead over second-placed Ocon.
His title rival, Lando Norris, struggled with driver errors and strategic pitfalls to finish sixth (after starting the race from pole). This has effectively confirmed Verstappen’s fourth consecutive title as he now sits 62 points ahead of the #4 driver with only three more rounds remaining this season.
