Max Verstappen’s stunning opening lap that teed him up for victory in Brazil has been hailed as every bit as good as Ayrton Senna’s famous Donington Park 1993 opener.
The Red Bull driver, whose shock win from 17th on the grid has put him in reach of another world title, gained six places through the opening three corners thanks to a combination of great car positioning and clinical overtaking attempts.
With Alex Albon and Lance Stroll unable to take up their grid positions after crashes in qualifying and on the formation lap, Verstappen passed four other drivers and climbed to 11th, right behind Lewis Hamilton, by the end of the opening lap.
Then he moved himself into the top 10 almost straight after when he dived past his Mercedes rival under braking for Turn 1 at the start of the second lap.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner likened the effortless way that Verstappen was able to slice his way through the field as akin to what Senna did at the European Grand Prix in 1993.
That day in 1993…
Senna’s opening lap that day, which has been labelled the greatest in F1 history, came after he started fourth – briefly lost a position to Michael Schumacher before gaining it back – and then muscled his way past Karl Wendlinger, Damon Hill and Alain Prost to lead by the end of the lap.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believed F1 witnessed something just as special in Brazil, as he praised the way Verstappen bounced back from a deeply frustrating qualifying that left him knocked out in Q2.
“Today was an emotional roller coaster because we knew we had a good car,” said Horner. “Max's mental strength and attitude to deal with that is outstanding, and I thought his start today was electric.
“That first lap was up there with Donington '93, around the outside of Turn 3. I think he passed six cars on the first lap.
“Then he was the only car that was really making progress, being able to pick cars off - and so late on the brakes into Turn 1.
“Whether it was with Lewis, with Oscar Piastri, and then obviously at the restart with Esteban [Ocon]. And then he just controlled the race and pulled away with ease, at sometimes one second per lap.
“So, on a pretty dreary day, he shone pretty brightly today.”
Point proven
Horner felt that, after a weekend when Verstappen’s driving had been in the spotlight in the wake of his Mexico GP penalties, the Dutchman had elected to prove a point out on track.
“Of course, there have been a lot of comments that have been made and opinions that have been voiced against Max and the way he drives,” said Horner.
“I think the best way to answer those critics is to produce the drive that he did.
“We've watched a lead that has been diminishing since before the summer break and, having not won since June, it was great to hear the Rolling Stones playing again in the garage, in memory of Dietrich Mateschitz that we play every time we win a Grand Prix.”
Asked if he felt that nature of his victory in Brazil pointed to Verstappen being the best driver F1 has seen, Horner said: “It's difficult to make those calls about generation to generation.
“Bernie [Ecclestone] rang me after the race and said 'I've seen all the greats; and that's one of the very best I've ever seen'.
“He's a bit older than I am and seen a bit more, so high credit from someone like him.”
