Norris, who started the wet and chaotic Sao Paulo race on pole position and 44 points behind Verstappen, finished sixth for McLaren.

The title gap exploded to 62 points with three rounds remaining and 86 points still up for grabs.

If results go his way, Verstappen could win the championship jackpot in the next race on the floodlit Las Vegas Strip on November 23.

In an accident-strewn race shortened to 69 laps, stopped after 33 and restarted, Verstappen took his eighth victory of the season – and one of the best of his career – with 19.477 seconds and a bonus point for the lap faster. .

“We stayed out of trouble, we made the right decisions and stayed calm and we were flying so all those things together made this result possible,” Verstappen said.

“But I mean, it’s incredible, to win here from so far back on the grid.”

Team boss Christian Horner hailed a masterclass from one of the greats, with the win stopping the rot at Red Bull and ending a 10-match losing streak for their Dutch driver dating back to Spain in June .

Amazing Alpine

Amid the chaos at Interlagos, Alpine claimed a stunning points bonanza with Esteban Ocon second and Pierre Gasly third, propelling the Renault-owned team from ninth to sixth in the standings.

“I don’t think anyone would have had that on their bingo card, it’s just fantastic,” Gasly said.

George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fifth.

Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh for RB with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri eighth after a 10-second penalty, Liam Lawson ninth for RB and Mercedes’ seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton 10th.

Verstappen now has 393 points to Norris’s 331, while Leclerc has 307.

McLaren leads the constructors’ standings with 593 points, compared to 557 for Ferrari.

“It was a tough day, I did my best. I had a lot of good races, it was about time something went wrong,” said Norris, who won Saturday’s sprint.

He ended the race under investigation for procedural violations at the start, but kept his job after stewards handed him a reprimand and a fine of 5,000 euros ($5,438). Russell received the same punishment.

Mercedes was also fined a total of 10,000 euros for tire pressure violations.

Early call

The day started early, with qualifying held at 7:30 a.m. local after rain forced a postponement on Saturday.

Verstappen was caught out by red flags during that session, with his 12th place on the grid becoming 17th after an engine penalty was applied.

The first race start was halted when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll went off on the formation lap in dangerous conditions, with Norris then leading some of the cars before the dome lights changed to signal clearance to move.

With just two cars behind him on the grid and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz starting from the pit lane, Verstappen raced through the field and finished 10th after two laps while Norris lost out to Russell at the start.

The virtual safety car was deployed on lap 28, after Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg spun, with Russell and Norris stopping in increasing rain.

It turned out to be an unfortunate decision as Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly stayed out.

The full safety car was then deployed before Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto crashed shortly after the pits, scattering debris across the track and halting the race.

Colapinto was the only Williams driver on track after Alex Albon crashed in qualifying and the team was unable to repair his car in the limited time available.

After a 25-minute delay, Ocon led a flying restart and Verstappen then took the lead on lap 43, three laps after Sainz crashed at turn eight and triggered another safety car period.

Hülkenberg was excluded for receiving help from the stewards after spinning and stranding his car in a sewer on lap 27.

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First publication date: 04 November 2024, 08:07 IST