Max Verstappen mounts incredible comeback at Sao Paulo GP to all but clinch F1 championship
Rain kicks up off the back of Verstappen's car as he competes during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
(CNN) — Max Verstappen produced one of the all-time wet weather drives at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday, climbing from 17th to first to all but seal his fourth consecutive F1 drivers’ championship title.
The Red Bull driver took advantage of some dramatic weather in Brazil to win a race which saw a red flag, two safety car periods and multiple crashes. In doing so, he extended his lead in the title race over challenger Lando Norris, who started in pole but finished sixth.
Verstappen is now 62 points ahead of the McLaren driver and, with three races remaining, will become world champion again if he finishes the next race in Las Vegas on November 23 with a lead of 60 points or more.
“Starting P17, I knew that it was going to be a very tough race,” the Dutchman said afterwards according to Formula1.com. “But we stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were fine. All of these things together of course made that result possible. I mean, unbelievable to win here from so far back.
“We made all the right calls again, stayed calm, and executed when we needed to, so incredibly happy with today. Honestly, it’s crazy. I never expected to go from P17 to P1. I was hoping for good points, but this is absolutely crazy.”
Norris, meanwhile, attributed the reigning world champion’s victory to the stop-start nature of the race, rather than Verstappen’s skill.
“That’s life sometimes – you take a gamble, that has paid off for them,” he said per Formula1.com. “It’s not talent, it’s just luck. (We were) a bit unlucky, that’s all.”
With qualifying delayed until Sunday morning due to a storm on Saturday, Norris put up the fastest time.
Verstappen, on the other hand, was unfortunate, a crash by Lance Stroll meaning the session was stopped and the Dutchman was unable to finish his quick lap in Q2. He finished in 12th but was pushed even further down the grid due to a five-place penalty for taking a new engine at the start of the weekend.
What followed in the race proper was nothing short of remarkable. Verstappen made a rapid start, moving up to 11th after just one lap, and to sixth by lap 11.
With heavy rain starting to beat down again, Norris and George Russell were both pitted by McLaren and Mercedes, respectively. Verstappen, crucially, stayed out. Shortly afterwards, with Franco Colapinto having crashed, the race was stopped due to the rain.
When it resumed, Verstappen had been able to change his tires without a pit stop. Suddenly, he found himself in second with only Esteban Ocon in front.
After another safety car period, the race restarted on lap 43 and Verstappen jumped at the opportunity to take the lead
From there, it was a breeze for the Red Bull driver, who ended nearly 20 seconds ahead of Ocon in second. Ocon’s Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly finished third, the first time in 11 years that an Enstone team has had both its drivers on the podium.
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