'Hamiltons determination to pass Verstappen increased at that point'

No answer for Hamilton

Hamilton started the race in tenth place, but quickly managed to work his way up and on the 48th lap came the first overtaking attempt on Verstappen for the race lead. "Hamilton was relentless," writes Brundle in his column for Sky Sports. "Max will say they both braked too late, him on the dirty part of the track, and they both went wide. I'm sure Max will also say that when he realised Lewis had gone into the run-off zone, he straightened his car to do the same and accelerate away."

The Dutchman eventually manages to keep the Mercedes driver behind until the 59th lap, but then it's really over. "Lewis chose the perfect line, which allowed him to pass with the help of DRS until turn four. Barring reliability issues, the win was his. Red Bull had no answer to Hamilton's Mercedes."

Warning for Verstappen justified

Verstappen's defensive work was often hard in Brazil and, according to Brundle, he is lucky not to have received a penalty. "It was completely on the limit and could easily have gone either way with the stewards. At the very least it warranted a black and white flag with a driver warning."

According to Brundle, Mercedes could still make a claim to review Verstappen's actions. "However, those claims rarely lead to a change in the decision." The stewards did not feel a penalty needed to be handed out to Verstappen. Hamilton wasn't fazed by that decision either. "I strongly suspect that his determination to pass Max increased at that point".