From 17 to 1: Verstappen's preliminary decision in the title fight

Sprint winner and pole-setter Lando Norris had to settle for a disappointing sixth place in the McLaren and lost a lot of ground in the World Championship duel. With three races and one sprint left before the end of the season, Verstappen is now comfortably 62 points ahead of Norris.

Verstappen also secured the extra point for the fastest lap in the turbulent rain race in Brazil, which was marked by spins, and gained a total of 18 points. "Do you know what it is? Simply enchanting," Verstappen radioed after his eighth win of the season and his 62nd overall. "My emotions were on a rollercoaster today. We stayed out of all the trouble. It's unbelievable to win here, from the very back," he added in the winner's interview.

Crazy Podium The podium in Interlagos was completed by the two French Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who had not managed to get beyond ninth place in the previous 20 races of the season. "What a day after this difficult season. In the rain, all the cars are a bit more equal," said Ocon with joy. "Two cars on the podium, nobody would have had that on their list, just fantastic," added Gasly, who had started the race from 15th place.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly raced onto the podium. © APA/afp / NELSON ALMEIDA

Verstappen did not manage to get past twelfth place in qualifying, which was postponed until Sunday morning due to heavy rain on Saturday and had to be interrupted five times due to several accidents. The 27-year-old was relegated five positions due to an engine change. Norris secured pole position, and Mercedes driver George Russell completed the first row.

After his qualifying crash, Alexander Albon was unable to take part in the Grand Prix because his Williams car was demolished, while Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz had to drive off from the pit lane. On the formation lap on the still wet Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Lance Stroll spun his Aston Martin into the barrier and then got stuck in the sand.

Rain race and a chaotic start In a chaotic start phase, Norris led another formation lap even though the track had not been cleared. The stewards only investigated the possible offence by Norris, Russell and the two Racing Bulls Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson after the race.

Norris got off to a bad 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 quickly through the field, and on the tenth of 69 laps the three-time world champion also braked his way past Oscar Piastri's McLaren to take seventh place.

While Russell defended a narrow lead over Norris, Tsunoda led a "train" that was more than ten seconds behind. On lap 25, the rain got heavier. Nico Hülkenberg briefly parked his Haas car in the first corner after spinning, prompting a virtual safety car. Almost all of the top drivers used the VSC phase to change to new intermediate tires, only Ocon and Verstappen skipped a pit stop and found themselves at the front of the race.

Norris passed Russell on a much wetter track, and seconds later the race management decided to deploy a safety car. On lap 32, Argentinian fan favorite Franco Colapinto crashed 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 was 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 a safety car was deployed again. The restart brought a possible preliminary decision in the battle for the World Championship: While Verstappen braked past Ocon in the first corner to take the lead, Norris slipped to seventh place. Verstappen steadily increased his lead in the final phase, and Norris was able to overtake his teammate Piastri without resistance.

Brazilian GP: The result

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From 17 to 1: Verstappen's preliminary decision in the title fight

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