Max Verstappen given 'an extra point' for 'simply sensational' reason

Max Verstappen has been awarded an "11 out of 10" by former F1 driver Christian Danner for mastering a poorly handling Red Bull during the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Verstappen charged from 21st on the grid to finish second behind Lando Norris at Interlagos, having taken a power unit penalty.

The Dutchman made rapid progress in the wet conditions but encountered extreme oversteer after switching to slick tyres, before his RB22's balance changed dramatically again when he returned to intermediates.

Danner, who won the inaugural Formula 3000 championship in 1985 before racing in F1 for Zakspeed, Osella, Arrows and Rial, was particularly impressed by Verstappen's racecraft.

"I saw the grand prix, of course, and I actually thought a lot about it because there were a few things over the weekend that impressed me and pleased me a lot. And, of course, Max's performance was one of the things that I thoroughly enjoyed," Danner told Lottoland Live Casino.

"He did extremely well, and his ability in classic racing things, you know, wheel-to-wheel racing, overtaking, choosing maybe a slightly different line, that is his speciality, and he's an absolute master at doing that.

"However, I give him an extra point. You know, he gets 10 out of 10 anyway, so I give him an 11 out of 10 for the fact that the car didn't really handle very well, which was clearly not to his liking. And the way he mastered it was simply sensational, I have to say.

"And what the hell went wrong with that thing, I don't know, but the handling was poor. And therefore, you know, a drive like that means an awful lot."

Danner also welcomed the FIA's decision to allow racing in the rain.

"However, what I enjoyed most was the fact that the FIA race director decided to let them go out in the bloody rain, and everybody was on [intermediate] tyres," he added. "And as a tremendous surprise to everybody, it worked out."