Once again, Max Verstappen proved that a small setback, like starting from the pit lane after a qualifying session where it looked like Red Bull had forgotten to attach the wheels to the suspension fully, won’t stop him from lighting up a Sunday afternoon. Doornbos, a former F1 driver, watched the whole thing with the enthusiasm of a man who’s absolutely certain he could have done the same, given a similar car, talent and possibly a time machine.
Doornbos believes that Vegas could offer more magic, although he concedes that Lando Norris and McLaren currently appear to have found an extra gear, a lucky charm and perhaps a cheat code.
The Pit-Lane Predicament
Saturday in São Paulo was a proper catastrophe for Verstappen. His qualifying session resembled a demonstration of how not to set up an F1 car, and Max limped out of Q1 with a machine that seemed intent on doing everything except accelerating in a straight line. With nothing to lose and everything broken anyway, Red Bull opted for the full ‘why not’ package: a fresh engine, a fresh setup and a fresh start from the pit lane.
It turned out to be a masterstroke. Or, at least, it wasn’t a disaster, which, in Formula 1, sometimes counts as the same thing.
With smart strategy calls and overtaking manoeuvres bordering on performance art, Verstappen clawed his way forward. But could he have won without that final pit stop? Doornbos isn’t so sure.
“Track position is great,” he muses during an interview with the Pit Talk podcast, “but you always risk a safety car turning your hard-earned lead into confetti.” A fair point, Brazil is famous for its scenery, samba and uninvited safety cars.
Older tyres might not have tolerated Verstappen’s pace for much longer, Doornbos notes.
“There’s a point where the tyres simply collapse,” he explains, as though discussing soufflés rather than Pirellis. “Then you’re suddenly not fighting for third, you’re fighting not to end up eighth.”
So Red Bull put on fresh soft tyres and let Max go wild. Damage limitation achieved. Anxiety levels inside the garage: unchanged.
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The title race isn’t settled, just tilted
Despite Verstappen’s 49-point deficit, Doornbos refuses to write off the championship. After all, this is Formula 1, a sport that adores late-season chaos almost as much as it loves sprint weekends that no one asked for.
“It’s far from done,” he insists. ‘There are still 83 points up for grabs. Look at 2021, look at 2016, look at Vettel… things often go down to the final flag.” Indeed, F1 finales often resemble plot twists that no screenwriter would dare submit.
And, according to Doornbos, Vegas is exactly the sort of place where Verstappen in a Red Bull could do something unpredictable. Street circuit. Low grip. High stakes. Some neon. There’s probably a rogue casino chip on the tarmac somewhere. Anything could happen.
Besides, Verstappen’s comeback in Brazil proved that he is still capable of rewriting the script. Norris’ retirement is never something to hope for, but it would reopen the entire title fight.
As Doornbos points out, Verstappen is only 25 points behind Oscar Piastri. In F1 terms, that’s less a deficit and more an awkwardly long handshake.
Interlagos: where Verstappen paints
Doornbos believes that Verstappen’s success at Interlagos is no coincidence.
“For some reason, he feels at home at the Ayrton Senna circuit,” he says. Indeed, Max drives the place as though he’s auditioning for a biopic.
“And we didn’t even get rain!” Doornbos adds, implicitly suggesting that a wet-weather Verstappen might have lapped half the field while composing a samba beat.
Interlagos is short and tight, and aside from the uphill blasts, mostly cornerless. This leaves plenty of opportunities for creativity, and Verstappen seized every one of them.
The Drive That Looked Like Art
Doornbos paid close attention to Verstappen’s technique. “The last corner is everything,” he explains. “Grip, acceleration, commitment. What struck me about Max is that he always turned in before the guy in front, attacking the curbs and taking real risks.”
In other words, Verstappen approached each overtaking manoeuvre as if the laws of physics were merely guidelines.
“He almost touched the floor,” says Doornbos admiringly. “That let him accelerate earlier. The drivers ahead of him were basically prey.”
And on that Sunday, Max Verstappen was the predator with perfect aim, leaving many startled competitors in his wake.
NEXT ARTICLE: Senior F1 driver “should be worried”
2025 has seen once of the least “silly seasons” in Formula One ever. The usual autumn driver market rumour mill has been mostly killed off this year due to the fact most drivers are locked in for 2026. Franco Colapinto’s new Alpine contract was announced in Brazil as in recent weeks he has matched and beaten his far more experienced team mate Pierre Gasly.
In fact prior to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Argentinian had qualified and finished ahead of the Frenchman in four of the previous seven race weekends. Although in interlaces gaily scored a point on Sunday, his first since before the summer break in Spa.
The other drivers uncertain of their F1 futures are to be found in the Red Bull camp, with only Max Verstappen locked down beyond 2025. For much of the year, Dr. Helmut Marko has been championing his next ‘Max Verstappen’ who is racing in F2 this season, although the recent form of Arvid Lindblad has fallen off a cliff in the junior category.
2026 not the year for rookies
Its no longer nailed on the Indo-Swede will get his big break into Formula One in 2026 as Milton Keynes decided another year in international single seater racing may bee best for his career development. Lindblad is a distant seventh in the F2 standings with just 109 points, some 79 behind championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli.
Blooding a rookie in the year when the biggest ever change in the F1 technical regulations comes into force is something none of the other teams have elected to do which may well have saved Yuki Tsunoda’s F1 career, at least for another season. On the whole this seasons rookie F1 drivers have impressed despite each of them struggling at various parts of the season.
Gabriel Bortoletto after a slow start has turned around what was a 37-4 points deficit to his hugely experienced team mate Nico Hulkenberg after the British Grand Prix, to just 24 points but behind the scenes his results are even better. The Italian is 11-10 ahead of the German in qualifying, once famed for his one lap pace and is just 9-11 down in terms of GP finishing places. READ MORE
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I did have this vague hope that with the addition of new “journalist staff”, the standard of writing and content would improve
Reality rarely matches hope however