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Sao Paulo GP: Max Verstappen wins wet thriller with stunning comeback drive to move to brink of world championship | F1 News

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Max Verstappen won a thrilling wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid to move to the brink of a fourth successive world championship, as title rival Lando Norris faltered from pole position.

Verstappen produced a sublime display of driving to surge through the field during a chaotic contest, which featured a red flag and two Safety Car interruptions, ending a 10-race winless streak that stretched back to June’s Spanish Grand Prix.

With pole-sitter Norris ultimately finishing sixth after a questionable call to pit as rain intensified was compounded by two significant driver errors at later restarts, Verstappen extended his lead to 62 points with just three rounds of the season remaining.

Verstappen can seal the title in Las Vegas in three weeks’ time simply by finishing the race ahead of Norris, who now needs to take more than 20 points per remaining round out of the Dutchman to overhaul him.

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After Carlos Sainz’s crash brought out the safety car, Max Verstappen overtook Esteban Ocon for the lead of the race in Brazil.

“Starting in P17 I knew it would be a very tough race,” Verstappen said. “We stayed out of trouble, made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were flying.

“All of these things together. It’s unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid.”

Sao Paulo GP result: Top 10

1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull

2) Esteban Ocon, Alpine

3) Pierre Gasly, Alpine

4) George Russell, Mercedes

5) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

6) Lando Norris, McLaren

7) Yuki Tsunoda, RB

8) Oscar Piastri, McLaren

9) Liam Lawson, RB

10) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly followed Verstappen home to score a stunning double podium for Alpine, catapulting the team from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ standings.

George Russell, who overtook Norris to take the lead at the first corner but botched his chances of victory by pitting from the lead at the same time as his compatriot, took fourth for Mercedes ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

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Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams into the barriers, bringing out the red flag once again in a boost to Max Verstappen’s title hopes.

Despite their inevitable disappointment at Norris’ title bid fading, McLaren were able to marginally extend their Constructors’ Championship lead over Ferrari to 36 points as Oscar Piastri took eighth.

Another pointless outing for Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez left Red Bull 49 points adrift of McLaren and appearing unlikely to extend their streak of two successive constructors’ titles.

Yuki Tsunoda took seventh and RB team-mate Liam Lawson ninth to leave Red Bull’s junior squad five points behind Alpine in the constructors’ standings. Lewis Hamilton rounded out the points after a miserable weekend for the seven-time world champion.

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Lance Stroll crashed his Aston Martin into the barriers during the formation lap ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

There remains the potential for the outcome to worsen for Norris, with the Brit facing a post-race investigation for wrongly pulling away from the grid after Lance Stroll’s formation-lap crash resulted in an aborted start.

Norris and McLaren appeared to confuse an aborted start – which sees cars wait on the grid and mechanics return – for an instruction to carry out another formation lap, and pulled away. Russell, Tsunoda and Lawson are also under investigation for the same infringement.

Russell, along with team-mate Hamilton, faces a further investigation for Mercedes changing the tyre pressures on their cars after the aborted start. The infringement could result in disqualification.

More to follow…

Sao Paulo GP Result

Driver Team Time
1) Max Verstappen Red Bull 2:06:54.430
2) Esteban Ocon Alpine +19.477
3) Pierre Gasly Alpine +22.532
4) George Russell Mercedes +23.265
5) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +30.177
6) Lando Norris McLaren +31.372
7) Yuki Tsunoda RB +42.056
8) Oscar Piastri McLaren +44.943
9) Liam Lawson RB +50.452
10) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +50.753
11) Sergio Perez Red Bull +51.531
12) Oliver Bearman Haas +57.085
13) Valtteri Bottas Sauber +63.588
14) Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +78.049
15) Zhou Guanyu Sauber +79.649
Carlos Sainz Ferrari DNF
Franco Colapinto Williams DNF
Nico Hulkenberg Haas DNF
Alex Albon Williams DNF
Lance Stroll Aston Martin DNS

Formula 1 returns after a three-week break with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 22-24, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime

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