Brazil GP: Lando Norris rues Max Verstappen’s ‘lucky’ break, as Formula 1 title hopes fade
The McLaren driver was in pole position but ran off the road twice as his Red Bull rival extended his lead to 62 points with 3 races left
Lando Norris claimed Max Verstappen’s stunning comeback from 17th to first in Sunday’s rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix was “lucky” following a chaotic afternoon in Sao Paulo that all but ended the British driver’s championship hopes.
Norris started from pole position but ran off the road twice in Interlagos and finished sixth to leave him 62 points behind Verstappen with only 86 points available across the remaining three rounds.
It means Verstappen will wrap up his fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas on November 23 if he finishes ahead of Norris.
Verstappen started way down the order but the Red Bull man delivered a performance for the ages – setting five fastest laps in a row and 17 in all – to take the chequered flag 19.4 seconds clear of runner-up Esteban Ocon.
Verstappen became the first driver since Kimi Raikkonen at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005 to win from as far back as 17th on the grid.
Norris finished 31 seconds behind his rival but, when asked about Verstappen’s triumph, the McLaren driver replied: “Max drove well and got a bit lucky. That’s it.
