World Championship now decided?
LIVE from 4.30 pm: Who will win the São Paulo GP?
In a chaotic Grand Prix in São Paulo, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen turned the race on its head and took victory after starting from 17th place. The Dutchman was helped by the weather and a race interruption. The world champion triumphed ahead of the two Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. His main rival Lando Norris only finished sixth and will probably have to say goodbye to his title dreams for good.
Max Verstappen came a big step closer to his fourth Formula 1 world championship title with victory in the rain chaos at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The Dutch Red Bull driver rewarded himself on Sunday in Interlagos with his first triumph since the Spanish GP in June after a remarkable comeback from 17th on the grid. Sprint winner and pole-setter Lando Norris had to settle for a disappointing sixth place in the McLaren and lost significant ground in the championship duel.
Three races and one sprint before the end of the season, Verstappen now leads Norris by a comfortable 62 points. Verstappen also secured the extra point for the fastest lap in the turbulent and spin-filled rain race in Brazil, gaining a total of 18 points. The podium in Interlagos was completed by the two French Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who had not finished higher than ninth in the previous 20 races of the season.
Starting position was poor
Verstappen had finished no higher than twelfth in qualifying, which was postponed to Sunday morning due to the heavy rain showers on Saturday and had to be interrupted five times due to several accidents. The 27-year-old was relegated a further five positions due to an engine change. Norris secured pole position, with Mercedes driver George Russell completing the front row of the grid.
Alexander Albon was unable to take part in the Grand Prix after his qualifying crash due to his demolished Williams car, while Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz had to start from the pit lane. On the opening lap on the still damp Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Lance Stroll spun his Aston Martin into the barriers and then got stuck in the sand.
In a chaotic start phase, Norris led another formation lap, although the track was not open. The stewards only investigated the possible offense committed by Norris, Russell and the two Racing Bulls Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson after the race.
Norris had problems throughout
The start was delayed by more than a quarter of an hour. Norris got off to a poor start on the intermediate tires, while Russell passed the pole setter without any problems. Verstappen, meanwhile, made a dream start and was already tenth at the beginning of the second lap when he maneuvered past record world champion Hamilton. The Red Bull star, who has often excelled in the rain, worked his way through the field in a hurry, and on the tenth of 69 laps the three-time world champion also overtook Oscar Piastri's McLaren to take seventh place.
While Russell defended a narrow lead over Norris, Tsunoda led a "train" more than ten seconds behind. The rain became heavier on lap 25. Nico Hülkenberg briefly parked his Haas car in the first corner after spinning, causing a virtual safety car. Almost all of the top drivers used the VSC phase to change to new intermediate tires, with only Ocon and Verstappen foregoing a pit stop and finding themselves at the front of the race.
Only Piastri makes way
Norris passed Russell on a much wetter track, and seconds later race control decided to bring out a safety car. On lap 32, Argentinian fan favorite Franco Colapinto wrecked his Williams behind the safety car and caused a red flag. This allowed Verstappen to get a new set of tires without losing any time. After a break of almost half an hour, the race continued behind the safety car.
In poor visibility, Norris dropped back to fifth place after a driving error. On lap 40, Sainz also spun off the track and the safety car was deployed again. The restart brought a possible preliminary decision in the championship battle: while Verstappen overtook Ocon in the first corner to take the lead, Norris slipped back to seventh place. Verstappen steadily extended his lead in the final phase, while Norris was able to overtake team-mate Piastri without any resistance.
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