Portugal Colonial - 'English' critics blasted as Verstappen moves to brink of world title

The former F1 driver, who was at Interlagos to see Verstappen's triumph from 17th on the grid in a chaotic rain-hit race, said he felt that his won wanted to prove himself.

"I think Max was incredibly irritated," he said, referring to widespread criticism of his aggressive driving at the Mexico City Grand Prix where he was handed two 10-second penalties.

"So he showed who is the very best -- especially after the comments from the English journalists, those English ex-drivers and the commentators

"Max was amazing today. I have experienced a lot with him, but today was one of the very best."

Verstappen senior said his son's win had been "very positive" for his bid for a fourth title.

"Let's hope," he said. "As we have seen, a lot can happen very quickly, but, with three races to go, we have a bit more peace of mind so things are looking good."

Verstappen leads title rival Lando Norris, who was only sixth on Sunday despite starting from pole, by 62 points with just three races left.

Verstappen's victory was an emphatic statement of intent as he reeled off five successive fastest laps in the closing stages and 17 altogether as he came home 19.4 seconds clear of Alpine's Esteban Ocon.

His win made him the first driver since Kimi Raikkonen at the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix to win from as far back as 17th on the grid.

"He was insane today," said Jos Verstappen to which Red Bull team boss Christian Horner added about his worth to the team that he is "invaluable."

"It's impossible to put a number on that. That was a champion's drive. There's some great drivers out there, but to stand out and shine like that today -- that marks him out, I think, with some of the greats now," said Horner.

"The way he's driven, and even when we've had a difficult car this year, he's never given up. He's gone about collecting the points, he's always trying to get maximum out of the car."

Verstappen revealed he had been through a roller-coaster of emotions and said it had been "a very tough race."

But he praised his team for making "the right calls and staying calm" as he identified that the resurfaced circuit offered only one racing line.

"It's so hard to pass here," he said. "There's just one line. I knew that I had to go for it but it is so easy to front lock so you have to balance that out – but I had confidence in the brakes which helped me."

L.Henrique--PC