Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has his fourth Formula One title within reach after a stunning drive to victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, dealing a shattering blow to Lando Norris’s hopes.
Norris, who started the wet and chaotic Sao Paulo race in pole position and 44 points behind Verstappen, finished sixth for McLaren on Sunday.
The title gap blew out to 62 points with three rounds remaining and 86 points still to be won.
If results go his way, Verstappen could hit the championship jackpot in the next race down the floodlit Las Vegas Strip on November 23.
In a crash-strewn race shortened to 69 laps, halted after 33 and restarted, Verstappen took his eighth win of the season – and one of the best of his career – by 19.477 seconds and with a bonus point for the fastest lap.
“We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and stayed calm and we were flying so all of these things together made that result possible,” Verstappen said.
“But I mean unbelievable, to win here from so far back on the grid.”
The win stopped the rot at Red Bull, ending a 10-race losing streak for their Dutch driver dating back to Spain in June.
Verstappen now has 393 points to Norris’s 331, with Leclerc on 307.
McLaren lead the constructors’ standings with 593 points to Ferrari’s 557.
“It was a tough day, I did my best. I’ve had a lot of good races, it was about time that something didn’t go right,” said Norris, who won the Saturday sprint.
‘Like driving a jet-ski’
Verstappen was described as “insane” and “invaluable” after delivering one of the greatest wet weather drives in chaotic, rain-lashed conditions.
“I was feeling all over the place, a roller-coaster,” he said.
“My emotions went from wanting to destroy the garage after qualifying to winning the race.”
Verstappen said driving under those conditions was akin to “driving a boat or a jet-ski”.
“The rain came and we stayed out, which was sketchy, and I just had to keep the car on track and the conditions were undriveable – so it was special today.”
Verstappen’s victory was also 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,” his father Jos, a former F1 driver, said.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner described the world champion as “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.”
DRIVER STANDINGS (after 21/24 rounds)
Max Verstappen surges ahead with just three races to go#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/7PezUcF3om
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
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