Eddie Jordan compares ‘off the scale’ Max Verstappen drive at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to two F1 legends

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Max Verstappen’s drive during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix will surely go down as one of the all-time greats in Formula 1.

The Dutchman had all the odds stacked against him, having been knocked out of qualifying early on in the session and facing a drive from P17 on the grid in the sodden conditions.

But much like his drive during the 2016 season at this track, Verstappen rose to the challenge and quickly made swift work of all the cars around him.

The Red Bull driver dispatched six cars on the opening lap, three of which were at the second corner, then made a gamble on tyres as the rain got heavier.

After braving the conditions, Verstappen’s patience was rewarded when a red flag came out after Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams on the start/finish straight. This enabled him to swap tyres without taking the pit stop time loss, effectively handing him a shot at victory.

Verstappen would go on to overtake race leader Esteban Ocon to seal his victory, increasing his gap to 19 seconds at the chequered flag after a series of fast laps at the end. Eddie Jordan has explained why he thinks it was a ‘genius’ drive from the Dutchman when speaking on TalkSport.

Eddie Jordan makes Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna comparison to Max Verstappen

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok has compared Verstappen’s drive in the wet conditions to Ayrton Senna at Donington in 1993, when the Brazilian lapped the entire field.

Verstappen’s impressive pace at the end of the race showed that there was no chance any of his rivals would catch up, including Lando Norris who was relegated to P6 after the red flag.

Jordan has compared Verstappen to Micheal Schumacher and Senna and raved about his performance in the wet.

“I’ve been involved in this game since day one. I don’t know a better driver. I’ve had Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in my car and they were outstanding,” said Jordan.

“But what I saw in Sao Paulo from Max Verstappen, that was something completely off the scale in terms of genius.”

Eddie Jordan believes Lando Norris ‘hasn’t got’ what it takes to be F1 world champion

Norris had started the race from pole but immediately lost his advantage at the start when he let George Russell through into the lead.

It was the sixth occasion this year that Norris had started from pole and conceded the lead, having previously done so to Oscar Piastri and Verstappen.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Jordan believes Norris ‘hasn’t got’ what it takes to be F1 world champion and has called on the Briton to make improvements over the winter break if he is serious about taking a title.

Martin Brundle has also said Norris lacks the ‘killer instinct’ to become a champion, while he was also criticised for making small errors in Brazil by former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley.