Did Max Verstappen make the best 4D chess move from the penalty spot at the Mexican Grand Prix?

While sixth place may not have been what Max Verstappen was hoping for in Mexico, has the Red Bull driver really achieved his goal?

Having qualified second for the Mexico Grand Prix, Verstappen could only manage sixth place as he received two penalties for his offenses in the race with Lando Norris.

Did Max Verstappen really achieve his goal at the Mexico City Grand Prix?

The 2024 Formula 1 season is approaching November. It was a wonderful season of incredible twists and turns. From Red Bull’s dominance in the first quarter of the season to failing to win a Grand Prix since June, Verstappen goes into the final races of the year knowing he is behind.

Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have taken turns to look like the fastest car in Formula 1, and going into the final race, the question arises as to who now has the upper hand as the sport’s most historic teams look: Ferrari or McLaren. the only contenders for the constructors’ championship, despite the proximity of Red Bull.

Verstappen is duly attempting to win his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship with a car that is the third or fourth fastest on the grid on any given weekend, and it’s in his hands – Red Bull would be considered a modest midfield car if it had she had such an opportunity. driven by two Sergio Perez.

Verstappen’s position now is somewhat similar to 2021 in the sense that he is behind. While the huge title fight with Lewis Hamilton in 2021 was much closer on points, Hamilton and Verstappen owned the top positions. This year Verstappen has a more substantial points lead, but the car seems incapable of victories and sometimes even podiums.

In the final races of 2021, it would be difficult to argue that it was Mercedes and Hamilton who performed better overall, and this greatly influenced Verstappen’s approach to the decisive rounds at the end of the championship – an approach he is repeating this year.

This was evident in Brazil, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi – in pure pace the Mercedes W12 was the faster car and this led to some undignified moments from Verstappen.

These included What A dive bomb on Hamilton in Brazil, as well as a surprisingly hostile Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in which Verstappen repeatedly made it clear to the Mercedes driver that he was absolutely willing to go toe-to-toe to get what he wanted – to maintain his slim points lead.

No longer in contention for wins this year, Verstappen works his magic to qualify and then sets out to make himself as disruptive as possible to Norris, while making it clear that the British driver simply has to back off. if he wants to keep his car safe and sound.

In the end, the incident that took both out of contention has only benefited Verstappen at this stage of the season – a major psychological victory for the Dutch driver, as Norris is forced to abandon any actions that could jeopardize his car. This worked perfectly for Verstappen in the United States, who used this knowledge and all his cunning to provoke Norris into making a critical error in judgment when he overtook Verstappen off the track.

A legal, if unsightly, defense in the United States had been generating headlines all week for the Mexico trip, but the inelegant move fell by the wayside when Verstappen employed more blatant tactics at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

While the turn four move could be seen as simple aggression, the turn eight example was a textbook example of a driver who cares little about his race and whose only concern is hurting what his opponent is doing. despair in the fight with Sainz, since the Spaniard, by and large, has nothing to do with his championship.

But despite the penalties, did Verstappen really benefit from his aggression in Mexico?

If Norris’s points cost is Verstappen’s goal, then in theory he achieved it – meaning it’s a clear win for Verstappen, even if his points lead has been reduced.

Having cost Norris significant time in the battle, as well as ensuring that McLaren ended up behind Charles Leclerc, the McLaren finished tantalizingly close to Sainz at the checkered flag – had Verstappen not proven his destructive power, Norris might well have been five seconds closer than he was needed. being a leader and putting pressure on your former teammate to win the race.

For the sake of argument, given the cars’ respective performance levels, let’s assume that Verstappen knew his Red Bull would not be able to keep up with McLaren or Ferrari on race day, and that fourth place was his theoretical best result. In this scenario, if Norris had won, Verstappen would have lost 13 points to his championship rival.

A collision that injured Norris or even put him out of action would have benefited Verstappen, but it would have cost Norris his chances of winning and lowered the bar for what Verstappen needed to achieve to negate his championship defeat. With sixth place and Norris second, Verstappen dropped just 10 points – his best result from a championship perspective, although worse from a race perspective.

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Norris should be under no illusions about the mentality Verstappen brings to the final races of his battle.

At the end of the day, it’s a bit of a mindset shift as most riders intend to race to achieve the best possible result for themselves and their team, placing as high as possible.

That’s what Norris is still trying to do, but all Verstappen is worried about is getting the best result for himself by scoring as much as he can while draining Norris of his own potential.

That’s the approach he took in 2021 against the slightly quicker Hamilton/Mercedes pack in his first real championship bid, and the 2024 Verstappen shows that the last two years haven’t changed him one iota.

Is it effective? It’s hard to argue with that at this point, as Verstappen has clearly weighed up the risk versus reward to make this approach work for him. The window of opportunity for Norris is rapidly narrowing and it seems likely that once the title is secured, Verstappen will immediately revert back to the usual slick and smart driver he usually is.

As I wrote last week, Verstappen has spent the last decade using his approach to strike fear into the hearts of his rivals – only Hamilton and Leclerc have shown they are not intimidated by it. With Verstappen and Norris’ friendship strained this season, Norris is aware of the lengths the Dutch driver will go to to ensure he wins the championship. The big question is whether a major flashpoint will occur before this title is decided, or whether Verstappen will weaken his lead before that possibility fades.

Of course, the main issue in all of this is the fairness of Verstappen’s driving. A tough and unyielding racer at the best of times, his belief that Norris won’t take him down without a fight leads to questionable antics. Although his move to Austin was legal, it spoiled a brilliant display of pressure from Norris and resistance to pressure from Verstappen.

In Mexico, there were no positives to look at from race day – once it became clear that his car was not in the winning window, he decided to jeopardize Norris’s race and did so duly. It was a cold and ruthless demonstration, and it was extremely effective.

But how far is Verstappen willing to go?

Read more: Toto Wolff’s verdict: “It’s not happening” in the fight between Verstappen and Norris at the Mexican Grand Prix