After every Formula 1 race, driver Jeroen Bleekemolen shares his observations in an exclusive column for Formule1.nl. Who or what stood out to him, what went well, and what needs to change? This time: a firm judgement on Oscar Piastri‘s penalty, the secret of Max Verstappen, and Norris’s self-assuredness.
Who was the standout in Brazil? That’s a good question. Naturally, you might quickly say Max Verstappen, considering how fantastically he drove. But in terms of the weekend and the title race, you can’t overlook Lando Norris. He has now firmly established his presence in the championship.
But first about Max. From pit lane to podium; what he shows is amazing. Unique. And yes, a lot of adjustments were made for the race, a new engine was installed, and everything fell into place. But even then, the way he overtakes everyone… That’s such a strength of his, that overtaking. It proves itself time and again. So strong, unbelievable.
I did think: they’ll let him finish the race and not stop anymore. But as you can see: Red Bull really thinks about this very well, as does Max. They know exactly what the best way is to achieve a great result. They look at themselves, at what the car can do, and the strategy works. That’s impressive.
The real winner, of course, is Lando Norris. Literally and figuratively. He now has a 24-point lead over Piastri and 49 over Max. Of course, something can always go wrong, but in principle, he is now really on his way to the title. You see Norris suddenly being cool, self-assured… In a way we haven’t often seen before. So he should be able to pull this off.
Piastri can certainly still become champion, even Max in theory. But Piastri has not been what we thought of him for several races now: he’s been off his game lately. And then there’s that penalty for him… I find that absolutely ridiculous. It was unjust, absolutely.
Because of course there are rules about the apex and how far you have to be next to the other. But in this case, in turn 1 in Brazil, where is the apex? The rules make it too complicated, that needs to change, and even the drivers themselves think so. Piastri made a nice move, nothing wrong. No one can be happy with this.
It doesn’t exactly help him in the title race, although his lag is also due to his own performance. Lately, Piastri has really lost it during the weekends. While Norris is suddenly so mentally strong. Halfway through the season, he was crying in front of the camera, and now he’s shining again. I really don’t see him breaking anymore. Unless something strange happens, Norris is not going to let this slip away.
