The heated World Cup duel goes into the next round

After the battle in Austin and Mexico, a decisive weekend is scheduled in Sao Paulo, with a sprint on Saturday (15.00 p.m.) and a Grand Prix on Sunday (18.00 p.m.). In addition, rainy weather forecast and a grid penalty for Verstappen promise additional excitement.

With four races and two sprints to go before the end of the season, the Red Bull star is still 47 points ahead of Norris in the McLaren in the overall standings. Austin winner Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari is 71 points behind and has only a theoretical chance of winning the world championship title. A maximum of 116 points are still up for grabs with a perfect end to the season. In Mexico City, Norris came second and picked up ten points in the victory of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, partly because Verstappen had twice exceeded the limits in the wheel-to-wheel duel and was given a 20-second penalty.

Lando Norris is Verstappen's hottest pursuer. © APA / JARED C. TILTON

Ferrari was once again the fastest car on the track, just ahead of McLaren. Verstappen's RB20 is still lagging behind, and the Austrian racing team slipped to third place in the constructors' championship with 512 points, behind McLaren (566) and Ferrari (537).

grid penalty for Verstappen "Mexico was a race to forget, but we know we can do better. We have to do everything we can to be more competitive," said Verstappen before the conclusion of the triple-header in America. Last year, the three-time world champion won both the sprint and the race ahead of Norris at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Interlagos.

This year, however, Verstappen, who has recently been criticized for his aggressive driving style, will start with a handicap. After performance deficits in Mexico with an increasingly old and slow engine, the Bulls are fitting Verstappen's company car with a new drive unit. "On the straights, we were missing three to eight km/h in some cases," explained Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko in Mexico City. The result is a five-place drop in the starting grid.

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The heated World Cup duel goes into the next round

The heated World Championship duel between Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and challenger Lando Norris enters the next round in Brazil.

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