There aren’t many races where a driver starts from P17 and claims the top spot at the checkered flag. In fact, the feat is so rare that it has left Eddie Jordan in disbelief. The former F1 team boss lauded Max Verstappen for what he managed to pull off at the 2024 Sao Paulo GP. Speaking on his Formula For Success podcast, Jordan dubbed it possibly “the greatest race” he had witnessed.
“I’m really lost for words because we’ve had some Titanic races this year and you’ve went on to explore the greatness of what those races were but they pale into insignificance as to what this race was. It was possibly the greatest race I’ve ever seen,” Jordan said.
The Irishman believes Verstappen‘s drive was the greatest example of how to control a race. He hailed the reigning champion for “knowing his rulebook inside out better than anyone else in the paddock”. Owing to that, the Dutchman avoided jumping the light, unlike Lando Norris, which Jordan feels could have easily invited a 10-second penalty.
Unbelievable!!! What a roller coaster… SIMPLY LOVELY Thank you everyone @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/TFoA2qzHr8
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 3, 2024
This is a big statement coming from the 76-year-old, who has witnessed multiple generations of drivers in his time. For context, those generations include drivers like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton. In fact, Jordan was the team boss who identified Schumacher’s talent and gave him the F1 break, which blossomed into a great career.
Jordan hailed Verstappen for his calculative drive while staying calm. That ‘masterclass’ for him was the pinnacle of Verstappen’s career so far. Through this race, Jordan also believes that Verstappen has sealed his fourth world championship. The defending champion is now 62 points clear of Norris in second with just three more races remaining.
David Coulthard on what makes Verstappen’s win ‘remarkable’
Jordan’s co-host David Coulthard wasn’t any less impressed by Verstappen’s feat. The former Red Bull driver unearthed an interesting stat that proved how rare Verstappen’s win was.
Coulthard revealed that in the last 1,121 races, a driver had won from P17 or lower only five times. John Watson pulled that off twice out of those five races. Among those was the occasion when Watson won from P22.
Verstappen, however, would not want to feature on that list too often. Until emerging victorious, he was critical of the car as well as the stewards. The late call to red flag Q2 after Lance Stroll’s crash ended the Dutchman’s flying lap, putting him in P12. The change of power unit put him further behind on the starting grid by five places.
After building a comfortable lead in the standings, Verstappen would prefer to cruise comfortably in the remaining races of the season. This could be the calm before the storm of the 2025 season, which is expected to be an ultra-competitive fight for both championships.
