Max Verstappen performance reminiscent of Michael Schumacher - Brawn

Max Verstappen

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Verstappen performance reminiscent of Schumacher - Brawn

Red Bull driver secured his 19th F1 win in Mexico

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 9 November 2021 12:45

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Max Verstappen delivered "an impressive performance" in Mexico reminiscent of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, according to F1's managing director motorsports Ross Brawn.

The Red Bull driver stretched his title advantage over Lewis Hamilton to 19 points with a dominant drive after passing the Briton and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas via a stunning late-breaking move into the first corner.

For Brawn, who worked as technical director at Ferrari and oversaw the Scuderia's commanding era which saw it win six consecutive constructors' titles from 1999-2004 and five drivers' championships for Schumacher, believes Verstappen underlined his qualities similar to the German with how he mapped out his race-defining moment.

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"Max didn’t put a foot wrong," said Brawn in his regular post-race column. "It was an impressive performance.

"And while Checo would get the emotional vote for driver of the day, for me it has to go to Max for his control on the first corner, how he delivered the perfect safety car restart and then how he didn’t let anyone get close thereafter.

"Red Bull boss Christian Horner said after the race that Max spent a lot of time assessing potential strategies he could use at the start.

"It reminds me of how Michael Schumacher used to spend a long time walking a track on the Thursday before a race weekend.

"He would look at corners and check out the escape routes if things go wrong. He would then know if you can escape safely from a bold move and be more confident of making that move.

"Max sussed out the first corner very well in Mexico and had the confidence to pull it off."

Despite Verstappen's advantage, Brawn added: "There are four races left and anything can happen, so this championship fight is still far from over.

"I heard someone say that both deserve to win the title, and in some ways they do."

Mexico proved why F1 rules are changing

For Brawn, though, what followed Verstappen's primary move and the safety car restart underlined just why new regulations are being introduced next season.

The high-altitude air of Mexico City played its part as there were few overtakes as the following cars could not get close enough to make a move, as Sergio Perez found to his cost in chasing Hamilton for second place.

"I know I’ve said this before in this column, but the race was another example of why we need the new technical rules that are coming in next season as it showed how challenging it is for the cars to get close enough to launch an overtake," added Brawn.

"Getting within one or two seconds was as close as most could get. And that’s why we wanted to change the regulations. We want to have cars that can race more closely."