Red Bull’s Champion Makes a Miracle from the Pit Lane
Battling weather and collisions, managing an extra pit stop following a puncture, the four-time world champion Max Verstappen has proven his worth once again with an astonishing race in Brazil. Things didn’t look great for the Dutch driver on Saturday when he fell behind in the sprint race, allowing rival and championship leader Lando Norris to extend his lead. When he was unable to pass Q1 of Qualifying, it looked as if Verstappen’s chances of a fifth championship were lost. Starting from the pit lane, Verstappen stayed in the fight by moving up 16 positions over the course of the race and finishing in third, an achievement only rivaled by his own performance on the very same circuit in 2024.
At the Interlagos circuit in the previous season, Max Verstappen stunned the world by taking a victory that seemed entirely impossible after starting from P17. Today, he mimicked that performance by taking third place from the pit lane, stunning critics who thought he couldn’t do it again. After suffering a tire puncture in the early laps, Verstappen was forced to make an early entry to the pit lane to continue. Despite the early setback, the Red Bull racer was able to make his way to the very front of the grid, aided also by a double DNF for Ferrari, giving him a few less positions to climb. Upon Norris’ second pit stop, Verstappen had a temporary hold on P1, where it looked as if he wanted to remain on his medium tires until the end of the race. He finally conceded to his third pit stop and switched to a set of soft tires, then quickly climbed back up into a podium position. His final lap ended in excitement as Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli defended second place from the first turn to the final stretch, and although Verstappen came up from behind on fresh soft tires, he was unable to overtake, leaving Antonelli in second for a career best.
Verstappen made the absolute most of what looked like a down weekend for Red Bull. Not only was Brazil his best performance of the season in terms of positions gained, but it also kept him in contention for the title fight with the few remaining races. There are now only 25 points between him and second-place Oscar Piastri in the Driver’s Standings, and from there an additional 24 points to the top. Going into Las Vegas, where he claimed the championship last year, he’ll have his strongest chance yet at turning the competition on its head. Norris has historically not done well on the Vegas Strip, so a win for Verstappen could mean that the title fight comes down to the very last race.
