Martin Brundle can’t believe 26-year-old wasn’t considered for Driver of the Day

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Martin Brundle couldn’t believe that Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen wasn’t involved in the Driver of the Day conversation at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1, Brundle and David Croft were discussing the rapid Dutchman.

As has been the case for much of this season, fans watching on television didn’t see much of Max Verstappen.

He was on pole position at Interlagos yesterday and nailed both restarts, heading into turn one ahead of his rivals.

After the second restart, Verstappen was briefly under pressure from McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Chasing his first win in Formula 1, he managed to almost pull up alongside the 26-year-old going into turn four.

However, that was the only push he managed to make before Verstappen drove off into the distance.

Verstappen’s domination of Formula 1 this season has meant that he’s very rarely in the Driver of the Day conversation.

His performances are just expected now and it’s more of a shock when he’s not seconds clear of his nearest rivals every Sunday.

The fact he’s more than doubled the points total of teammate Sergio Perez in the same car shows just how incredible his displays have been in 2023.

Verstappen not in Driver of the Day conversation

Towards the end of the race, the discussion of who would be awarded Driver of the Day came up and David Croft said: “Driver of the Day, currently being led by Lando Norris, who has been the driver of the day in the last two races, going for a hat-trick.

Brundle added: “So, the bloke out front doesn’t even get a look in then?

Croft then jokes: “Well, it’s all about the car, isn’t it? That’s what everyone says. I don’t necessarily, totally agree with that one.

“It’s a fine car but he’s using it consistently better than his teammate this season.

Brundle concluded: “I was welcoming back Sergio Perez for a super drive and it has been, but he’s currently 25 seconds behind Verstappen.”

Verstappen is widely heralded for the way he drives his Red Bull, but because his domination is expected now he rarely gets nominated for Driver of the Day.

Instead, the very impressive Lando Norris once again won the award as he continues to impress in his McLaren.

The Dutchman has now won 17 races this season which is an incredible statistic.

He will be aiming to become the first driver to win the new Las Vegas Grand Prix in the penultimate race of the season to add another accolade to his collection.