Max Verstappen's dominant days are over, as highlighted by the fact he was unable to power his way to a third consecutive Belgian Grand Prix victory on the back of receiving a grid penalty.
That is the view of former F1 driver turned co-commentator Martin Brundle after witnessing the three-time F1 champion unable to slice his way through the field at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
In 2022, Verstappen crushed his rivals, including team-mate Sergio Perez, by almost 18 seconds despite starting from 14th on the grid following a raft of power unit penalties.
Last year, Verstappen did not have as much work to do en route to taking the chequered flag by just over 22 seconds after starting from sixth following another PU infringement.
Heading into Sunday's race, a similar result was expected after the 26-year-old Dutch driver started from 11th after again claiming pole, but there was no three-peat as Verstappen had to settle for fourth.
"Verstappen was necessarily super cautious in the first corner and picked off his early and more easy victims in Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, and Fernando Alonso, who were all in a race for best of the rest rather than any squabble with the world championship leader," remarked Brundle via his Sky Sports F1 column.
"But when Verstappen arrived on the back of Norris and the leading bunch in a train seeking shelter in the open rear wing DRS zone of the driver in front, he stalled out for progress.
"Gone are the days when Red Bull was so dominant they could win any which way from almost anywhere on the grid."
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In fairness, it was a race that caught many by surprise as the suspected high tyre wear witnessed during Friday practice did not transfer across to the grand prix.
That enabled George Russell to take the chequered flag on a one-stop strategy, although he was later disqualified as his Mercedes was underweight.
"In more recent times, with so much data, experience, and endless simulation work available, I've rarely known those in the know, and therefore the media too, being so off the pace in how the race might play out," added Brundle.
"The Friday running, and even a dry F2 race on Sunday morning, suggested that tyre degradation would be very significant during the grand prix.
"There was much talk of McLaren being the pacesetters and 'guesstimation' as to how long it would take Max Verstappen from a new power unit-penalised 11th on the grid to emerge near the front.
"It was perceived that the best of the rest would be a close call between Ferrari, Mercedes, and Sergio Perez in the front-row-starting Red Bull."
Instead, Mercedes emerged as the frontrunner, with Lewis Hamilton inheriting the win from team-mate Russell's demise.
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