Max Verstappen stole Mercedes’ day in the sun during the last few laps of the French Grand Prix after scoring an unexpected win.
Initially, it seemed like Lewis Hamilton would take the win and make up for the two horrible race weekends they faced in Monaco and Baku.
However, the Dutchman had a few tricks up his sleeve which granted him the chequered flag leading him to a first-place podium finish.
F1 managing director Ross Brawn has revealed that he finds it difficult to believe that Max could have overtaken Lewis.
This is because he is under the impression that Hamilton can find his way out of any situation and emerge victorious.
Didn’t think Max could do it: Brawn
In an article, Brawn wrote, “What Lewis demonstrated was his ability to bring more out of tyres in difficult circumstances compared with Valtteri, who obviously took more life out of the tyres. Lewis is a master of eking out performance.”
“I still wasn’t convinced that even five laps from the end, Max was going to do it, so impressive was Lewis on that stint. It could have gone either way,” he stated.
It is clear that Verstappen’s victory has left many surprised considering how sudden and unexpected it was.
Max extends lead over Lewis
After he had to retire from his race during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Dutchman’s victory in France is surely a breather for him.
Having won the pole position gave him an added advantage in the race on Sunday. However, a mistake in Turn 1 caused him to give out the lead to Lewis Hamilton.
But towards the last few laps of the race, he regained the lead and maintained it till he crossed the chequered flag.
The Red Bull driver went home with 25 points and an extra for the fastest lap. Hamilton on the other hand had to make do with 18.
12-point gap between Max and Lewis
After his win in France, Verstappen has increased the gap between him and Lewis by 12 points. He will hope to keep the pace going as the paddock moves to Austria (Red Bull’s home circuit) at the Red Bull Ring.
It is yet to be seen if Max can extend the lead further or if Hamilton can fight back.
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