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Lando Norris torpedoed his faint world championship hopes with a series of errors in a rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix won brilliantly by Max Verstappen.
Norris started on pole but slid back to sixth while Red Bull’s defending champion produced one of the drives of his life to triumph from 17th on the grid.
Norris, who falls 62 points behind Verstappen with 86 remaining, surrendered his lead at the start, twice detoured off the Interlagos track at restarts, and paid the price for what turned out to be a badly timed pit stop.
The result means that if Verstappen beats the Briton in Las Vegas on November 23 he will clinch his fourth consecutive title ahead of the concluding races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen was in startling form, setting five fastest laps in a row, and 17 in total, to beat Alpine’s runner-up Esteban Ocon by nearly 20 seconds. Norris was a massive 31sec behind his rival.
‘Max drove well and got a bit lucky,’ said Norris, grudgingly. ‘That’s it.
‘I made a couple of mistakes, which I own up. It cost me a few positions in the end.
‘It was a tough day. I did my best. It was about time that something didn’t go right. Max won the race. Well done to him. It doesn’t change anything.’
Verstappen started down the grid after a red flag caused him to abort his flying lap in qualifying. An engine change saw him drop another five places.
Norris’s day to forget was capped when he was fined £4,200 – along with Mercedes’ George Russell – for starting a second formation lap before the lights permitted.
