Max Verstappen Makes F1 History That May Never Happen Again
Max Verstappen produced a record-breaking performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, coming from the pit lane to finish on the podium after an extraordinary drive at Interlagos.
After a disappointing qualifying session, Red Bull made major changes to Verstappen's car, meaning he had to start from the pit lane.
But the Dutchman delivered one of his best performances to fight his way through the field.
A late pit stop to move onto the soft compounds saw him pull off a stunning overtake on George Russell, although he was unable to get past the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
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It was a brilliant recovery drive, but Verstappen's world championship hopes took a significant hit in Sao Paulo.
Lando Norris won both the sprint race and the Grand Prix, taking the maximum 33 points available from the weekend.
It leaves Verstappen 49 points behind the Englishman with just three weekends remaining.
After the race, Verstappen admitted to Sky Sports F1 that his world championship hopes were over.
He said: "We lost already way too many points in the beginning of the season to the middle of the season.
"That we were in that up until now already was quite a surprise, but we have to be realistic, over the whole season we haven't been good enough.
"But we will still try everything we can until the end of the season to score some highlights and try to win races - that's what we are here for."
Even if Verstappen believes his title hopes are gone, he still made history at Interlagos.
He became the driver to finish on the podium from the most different grid positions in Formula 1 history.
The Dutchman has now recorded top-three finishes from nearly every possible starting spot, including the pit lane, with only 11th, 12th, 13th, and 19th still missing.
This season, Verstappen had been aiming to become just the second driver after Michael Schumacher to win five consecutive world titles.
But with only one sprint race left across the remaining three weekends, there are just 83 points left on the table.
And Norris appears to have found consistency at just the right time.
The McLaren driver has finished on the podium in each of the last four races, including back-to-back victories.
His teammate Oscar Piastri, who led the standings for much of the season, has struggled in recent weeks.
The Australian's last podium came more than two months ago at the Italian Grand Prix, and he now sits 24 points behind Norris in the championship.
Topics: Formula 1, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
James Taylor