SAO PAULO (AP) — Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took a major step toward securing his fourth straight F1 title by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, despite starting 17th, and increasing his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris with three more races remaining.
The Dutchman could secure the trophy in Las Vegas later this month. All he needs to do is to finish ahead of the McLaren driver. Other combinations could also secure the title for the 27-year-old.
In one of the best drives of his career, Verstappen overcame punishments before the race as well as the wet weather at Interlagos to earn his first victory since June, and his eighth Grand Prix win of the year. He won by almost 20 seconds and also clocked the fastest lap at Interlagos 17 times during the race to receive an extra point.
The Dutchman increased his lead from 44 to 62 points over Norris, who won Saturday's sprint race. Norris started in pole position but finished in a disappointing sixth position. He avoided losing more points in an investigation by stewards, who fined him and Mercedes' George Russell 5,000 euros ($5,440) for breaching the FIA’s start procedure.
Verstappen had been on course for a tough weekend in Sao Paulo. He received a five-place grid punishment after changing his engine for the sixth time in the season — the maximum allowed is four. He lost one point in Saturday's sprint race because of another penalty. And then his qualifying session earlier on Sunday was interrupted when he was 12th and trying to clock a fast lap to reach the final part of the session.
“My emotions today were a roller coaster,” Verstappen said after the race. “We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and we were flying.”
Verstappen said later at a press conference that winning in Brazil was “incredibly important” in his bid for a fourth title and that he had been expecting to see his overall lead reduced.
“It felt like I was driving a boat,” Verstappen joked. When asked about what he expects next, he said: “I just want clean races, that's all. I am not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever.”
After the Las Vegas GP on Nov. 23, there are races in Qatar (Dec. 1) and Abu Dhabi (Dec. 8), with a combined total of 86 points available.
The two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, completed the podium. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who started the race with a long shot at the drivers' title, finished fifth.
F1 governing body FIA had rescheduled the qualifying session for 7:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT) Sunday after heavy rain on Saturday. The start of the Grand Prix was brought forward from 2 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (1530 GMT), while many in the paddock still wondered whether the drivers would take their cockpits at all during the morning.
The tense race under rain in Sao Paulo had an aborted start when Aston Martin's Lance Stroll went off on the formation lap. Norris could not hold his first position in the first turn, losing it to Russell. The McLaren driver struggled until the end of the race to find his line under the rain, which Verstappen clearly managed to do from the start, finding grip where others couldn't in the inside of the track.
The big boost for Verstappen, and possibly a key moment in the drivers' championship, came when Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg spun off in the 27th of 69 laps. A virtual safety car came in and many drivers chose to go to their pit lanes but Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly opted not to stop and the gamble paid off.
Five laps later, to the huge disappointment of about 10,000 Argentinian fans at Interlagos, Williams driver Franco Colapinto crashed. That meant a red flag, only minutes after leaders Russell and Norris had pitted. Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly changed their tires without losing their places, putting Norris under even bigger pressure to deliver.
“It was the right time to box,” Norris said after the race. “We were just unlucky.”
“I did all I could today. That’s all. Max won the race. Good on him, well done but it doesn’t change anything for me,” he added.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who finished 10th, also praised Verstappen's performance under rain in Sao Paulo.
“An amazing drive, congrats,” the seven-time champion said on Instagram.
Hulkenberg was disqualified after receiving a rare black flag before the restart because he had gotten assistance from marshals to return to the track.
The bumpy track at Interlagos was under fire from drivers, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso receiving treatment for back pains after the race.
Earlier, in the most emotional moment of the weekend at Interlagos, many fans on the stands cried when Hamilton drove the late Ayrton Senna’s title-winning car ahead of the race. The seven-time champion took some laps under falling rain in the historic McLaren MP4/5B that Senna drove during his 1990 title campaign, in which he beat Ferrari’s Alain Prost.
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Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press
