Max Verstappen wins dramatic wet Brazil GP; Alpine claim double podium

SAO PAULO -- Max Verstappen took a huge step towards securing this year's world championship with a drive for the ages from 17th on the grid to victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

It was the Red Bull driver's first grand prix victory since the Spanish Grand Prix in June and delivered a bitter blow to Lando Norris' title chances as the McLaren driver dropped from pole position to sixth at the finish.

Alpine secured a double podium with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing second and third respectively. Alpine started the season struggling to qualify off the back row of the grid but took its first double podium since 2013 when the team was named Lotus.

Verstappen now has a 62-point lead over Norris in the standings, with a 60-point margin required after the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 23 to see him crowned a four-time world champion with two races remaining.

Verstappen said afterwards: "My emotions today have been a rollercoaster. With qualifying being really unlucky with the red flag, starting 17th, I knew that would be a tough race but we stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were fine.

"So all of these things together make that result possible but I think it's unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid."

The weather played a huge role in Sunday's result, with Verstappen's talent for finding grip in wet conditions shining through.

His Red Bull team also played its part, with the pit wall holding its nerve and not pitting Verstappen for fresh intermediate tyres when the rain intensified just before a red flag midway through the race.

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Norris, who lost the lead from pole position at the first corner to Mercedes' George Russell, had been radioing his team to request a pit stop from Lap 18 and finally had it granted when the heavy rain started to fall on Lap 28.

Russell, who was ahead of Norris, and Yuki Tsunoda, who was in third, also pitted for fresh tyres on Lap 28, meaning the top three positions were vacated for Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly, who were next on the road and all decided to stay out on track.

With rain hammering down, Verstappen started struggling for performance on his aging intermediate tyres, but Red Bull's gamble paid off when the race was initially put under a safety car and then suspended with a red flag after Franco Colapinto crashed on the pit straight.

Under red flag rules, drivers are allowed to change tyres in the pits before the race restarts, essentially giving Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly a free pit stop. With 35 laps remaining when the race got back underway, Norris found himself two places behind his title rival and without the tyre advantage he hoped to gain by pitting under the worst of the conditions.

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On the first lap back under racing conditions, Norris ran wide at Turn 4, losing the position he had gained over Russell just before the red flag and meaning he dropped down to fifth. Just a few laps later, Carlos Sainz crashed his Ferrari, resulting in another safety car and another opportunity for the order to shuffle.

Verstappen took full advantage, passing Ocon for the lead with a remarkable move on the inside of the Alpine at Turn 1. Moments later, Norris ran wide at the same corner as he tried to hold off Charles Leclerc, dropping the McLaren driver to seventh place.

Over the remaining laps, Verstappen went on to set a new fastest lap -- ensuring he secured the bonus point on offer -- and extended his lead to 19.4 seconds over Ocon in second. Norris, meanwhile, worked his way back up to sixth but still dropped 18 crucial points to Verstappen by the chequered flag.

Alpine's double podium propelled the team up three places in the constructors' championship from ninth to sixth.

Ocon said afterwards: "What a day that was after a difficult season. It's really nice to be driving around here and having the performance a bit levelled out in the rain. Someone very important to all of us said a long time ago that in the rain the cars are almost equal."

Gasly agreed with his teammate adding: "No one believed it until the end, two cars on the podium I don't think anyone would have that on the bingo card this season so it's just fantastic.

"This morning we had a very poor quali, a couple of incidents, we didn't get a lap in Q2 and we started 13th and managed to make 10 positions. I'm absolutely buzzing right now, I'm so proud of the team to overcome such a tough season, it would have been too easy to give up and we never gave up."

Russell, who led for the first 30 laps of the race, finished in fourth place just behind Gasly and ahead of Leclerc in fifth. Norris had to settle for sixth ahead of teammate Piastri, who had a 10-second penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson earlier in the race, dropping him from seventh to eighth behind Tsunoda.

Lawson took ninth place in the second RB after holding off Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez in the final few laps of the race.