The 2025 pre-season test has begun to cast a shadow on Red Bull’s competitiveness going into this season. Yet, former F1 driver and Oscar Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber still considers Max Verstappen to be the benchmark of the field given his exploits last season.
The Dutchman clinched his fourth consecutive title at the Las Vegas GP despite the Bulls fielding the third-fastest car in the latter half of the 2024 season. Verstappen only won twice in the last 14 races, but his Brazilian GP win is something that Webber feels defined his title bid.
“Max is the benchmark. He had an exceptional season last year. I watched with admiration, because he had a car that was clearly not always the best. Brazil was the final blow, that was beautiful to see. I looked at every sector and thought: ‘wow’,” he told Ziggo Sport, per RacingNews365.
To be fair, Verstappen had done all the heavy lifting in terms of his championship defense in the first half of the season. After racking up seven wins from the first 10 races and an 80+ point lead, he was in a rather comfortable position. But then the season started to unravel — in a bad way for the Dutchman and in an extremely pleasant way for McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Heading into the Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, Norris was within 44 points of the defending world champion. Now, the Interlagos Circuit had witnessed the heavens open across the race weekend. But nobody knew whether it would favor Norris or Verstappen as both were good in the wet weather.
From P17 on the grid, the win in Brazil should’ve been impossible…
NEVER tell @Max33Verstappen what’s impossible! With the championship in the balance, he delivered one of his all-time greatest drives #F1 pic.twitter.com/8CUqSD4dHd
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 21, 2024
The Dutchman felt the brunt of an inconsistent RB20 package when he was knocked out of Q2 during qualifying for the Grand Prix. A five-place grid penalty for a new engine meant he had to start from 17th.
Despite this setback and the treacherous conditions on race day, the 27-year-old drove a sublime race, winning the race by a staggering margin of 20 seconds while Norris dropped down to sixth. The very next race on the iconic Vegas strip would see Verstappen lift his fourth title.
Why was Verstappen’s 2024 Brazil GP win one of the classics?
Despite starting from P17, Verstappen made an electrifying start off the line. By the 12th lap, the Dutchman had already made up eleven places and was sitting strong in sixth place. That’s when fortune favored Verstappen.
Nico Hulkenberg’s retirement on lap 27 caused a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) which prompted the leaders Lando Norris and George Russell to pit for fresh rubber. However, as the conditions worsened, a full Safety Car was called by race control.
Further drama ensued as Williams’ Franco Colapinto heavily crashed into the barriers despite being under the Safety Car. This triggered a red flag. At this point, Verstappen had opted not to pit under the VSC and had track position over the likes of Norris and Co. The red flag meant he could keep track position and also fit new tires.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon led the race at the restart with Verstappen and Ocon’s teammate, Pierre Gasly rounding off the top three. The incessant spray and wet conditions allowed the Frenchman to pull a lead over the Red Bull driver.
However, disaster struck for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who crashed his SF-24 and brought out yet another Safety Car. This time around, the Dutchman braved Ocon into turn one at the restart and took the lead of the race — never to look back.
The red flag that allowed Verstappen to get the legs over Norris prompted the #4 driver to call his win “all luck and no talent.” Though, the McLaren driver took that statement back during the FIA Prize-Giving Ceremony.
