While sixth place might not be what Max Verstappen was hoping for in Mexico, did the Red Bull driver really achieve his goal?

After qualifying second for the Mexico City Grand Prix, Verstappen could only manage sixth while receiving two time penalties for his mistakes in the race with Lando Norris.

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

As the 2024 F1 season kicks off in November, it has been a remarkable season of incredible swings and roundabouts. From dominance for Red Bull In the first quarter of the season, having failed to win a Grand Prix since June, Verstappen enters the final races of the year knowing he is on the back foot.

Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have taken turns as the fastest car in F1, and going into the final handful of races, it’s a moot point whether it’s Ferrari or McLaren who now hold the edge as the sport’s most historic teams show. the only contenders in the Constructors’ Championship, despite the proximity of Red Bull.

Verstappen is properly seeking a fourth consecutive drivers’ championship in a car that is third or fourth fastest on the grid on any given weekend, and that is in his hands – Red Bull could be seen as a means of modest means if there were two Sergio Perez behind the wheel.

Verstappen’s position at the moment is somewhat similar to 2021 in that he is on the back foot. While the huge 2021 title battle with Lewis Hamilton was much tighter on points, Hamilton and Verstappen had the top positions to themselves. This year, Verstappen has a healthier points lead, but a car seemingly incapable of wins and sometimes podiums.

In the final races of 2021, it would be difficult to argue that it was Mercedes and Hamilton who enjoyed the better performance overall and that greatly affected the approach Verstappen took in the decisive rounds at the end of the championship – an approach. which he repeats this year.

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

These included that divebomb Hamilton in Brazil and the remarkably hostile Saudi Arabian Grand Prix where Verstappen kept making it abundantly clear to the Mercedes driver that he was perfectly willing to have a collision to get what he wanted – to keep his slim points lead.

No longer able to fight for wins this year, Verstappen works wonders to get into the mix in qualifying and then aims to make himself as disruptive as possible to Norris – all while making it clear that the British driver simply needs to quit . if he wants to keep his car intact.

After all, an incident that took them both out of contention only benefits Verstappen at this point in the season – a major psychological victory for the Dutchman as Norris is forced to abandon any move that could put his car in danger . This played out perfectly for the United States’ Verstappen, who used this knowledge and all his clever trickery to cause Norris to make a critical error of judgment as he overtook Verstappen off the track.

A legitimate, if scrappy, defense in the United States fueled the headlines all week heading into Mexico, but that inelegant move paled into insignificance as Verstappen engaged in more blatant tactics at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

While the move at Turn 4 could be seen as simple aggression, the example at Turn 8 was a textbook example of a driver who has no regard for his own race and whose only concern is to damage what does his rival – after all, Verstappen has not shown that no such thing. desperation in his battle with Sainz as the Spaniard is largely irrelevant to his championship.

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

If costing Norris points is Verstappen’s goal, then in theory he has achieved it – meaning it’s a net win for Verstappen, even if his points lead has shrunk.

After costing Norris a lot of time in their battle, as well as ensuring McLaren got behind Charles Leclerc, McLaren finished tantalizingly close to Sainz at the checkered flag – had Verstappen not proved disruptive , Norris could very well have been the five seconds closer he needed. to be the leader and put his former teammate under pressure to win the race.

For argument’s sake, given the performance levels of the cars, let’s assume that Verstappen knew that Red Bull couldn’t keep up with McLaren or Ferrari on race day, and that a fourth place was his theoretical best. In that scenario, with Norris winning, Verstappen would have lost 13 points to his championship rival.

A collision that injured Norris, or even took him out, would only benefit Verstappen, while costing Norris the chance to win, it also lowered the bar for what Verstappen should to get to cancel the loss in the championship. With sixth and Norris second, Verstappen lost just 10 points – a better result from a championship point of view, even if, from a race point of view, it was worse.

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Norris should be under no illusions that this is the mindset Verstappen has in the final races of their battle.

After all, it’s a change of mindset, as most drivers set out to compete by getting the best possible result for themselves and their team by placing as high as possible.

That’s what Norris is still trying to do, but all Verstappen cares about is getting the best possible result for himself, getting the best he can while destroying Norris from his own potential.

It’s the exact approach he used in 2021 as he faced the slightly quicker Hamilton/Mercedes pack in his first championship bid, and Verstappen’s 2024 vintage shows the last two years haven’t changed him at all.

Is it effective? It’s hard to argue against at this point, as Verstappen has clearly weighed the risk/reward ratio to make this approach work for him. The window of opportunity for Norris is shrinking, fast, and it seems quite likely that by the time the title is wrapped up, Verstappen will immediately resume being the usual skilful and clever trickster that 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 undaunted by it. As the friendship between Verstappen and Norris is severely strained this season, Norris finds out how far the Dutchman will go to ensure he wins the championship. The big question is whether there will be a major flashpoint before this title is decided, or whether Verstappen will ease into his lead before that likelihood disappears.

Of course, the major issue with all of this is the fairness of Verstappen’s driving. A tough and unyielding driver at best, his determination that Norris won’t rule him without a fight leads to questionable craziness. While his move to Austin was legal, it soured what had been a brilliant display of pressure from Norris and resistance to pressure from Verstappen.

In Mexico, there were no race day positives to latch on to – once it was clear his car wasn’t in the winning window, he began to compromise Norris’ race and did so duly. It was a cold and ruthless display and it was extremely effective.

But how far is Verstappen willing to go?

Read on: Toto Wolff’s verdict ‘that’s not valid’ on Verstappen-Norris Mexican GP showdown