SAO PAULO (AP) — Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took an important step towards securing his fourth consecutive F1 title by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, despite starting 17th, and increasing his lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris with three more races left.

The Dutchman could win the trophy in Las Vegas later this month. All he needs to do is finish ahead of the McLaren driver. Other combinations could also secure the title for the 27-year-old.

In one of the best performances of his career, Verstappen overcame pre-race penalties, as well as wet weather at Interlagos, to take his first victory since June and his eighth Grand Prix victory of the year. He won by almost 20 seconds and also set the fastest lap at Interlagos 17 times during the race to receive an extra point.

The Dutchman increased his lead from 44 to 62 points over Norris, who won Saturday’s sprint race. Norris started on pole position but finished in a disappointing sixth position. He avoided losing further points in an investigation by stewards, who fined him and Mercedes’ George Russell 5,000 euros ($5,440) for violating the FIA’s starting procedure.

Verstappen was on track to have a difficult weekend in Sao Paulo. He received a five-place grid penalty after changing his engine for the sixth time this season; the maximum allowed is four. He lost a point in Saturday’s sprint race due to another penalty. And then his qualifying session on Sunday was interrupted when he was 12th and trying to set a fast lap to reach the final part of the session.

“My emotions today were a rollercoaster,” Verstappen said after the race. “We didn’t get into trouble, we made the right decisions and we were flying.”

Verstappen later told a news conference that winning in Brazil was “incredibly important” in his bid for a fourth title and that he hoped to see his overall lead reduced.

“I felt like I was driving a boat,” Verstappen joked. When asked what he hopes for next, he said: “I just want clean races, that’s all. “I’m not thinking about getting the championship in Las Vegas or anything like that.”

After the Las Vegas GP on November 23, there are races in Qatar (December 1) and Abu Dhabi (December 8), with a combined total of 86 points available.

The two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, completed the podium. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who began the race with a good chance of taking the drivers’ title, finished fifth.

F1’s governing body, the FIA, had rescheduled the qualifying session for 7:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Sunday after heavy rain on Saturday. The start of the Grand Prix was brought forward from 2:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. GMT), while many in the paddock were still wondering if the drivers would occupy their cockpits during the morning.

The tense, wet race in Sao Paulo got off to an abortive start when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll went off the track on the formation lap. Norris was unable to maintain his first position in the first turn and lost it to Russell. The McLaren driver struggled until the end of the race to find his line in the rain, which Verstappen clearly managed to do from the start, finding grip where others couldn’t on the inside of the track.

The big boost for Verstappen, and arguably a key moment in the drivers’ championship, came when Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg spun on lap 27 of 69. A virtual safety car came in and many drivers opted to go. to their pits but Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly chose not to stop and the bet paid off.

Five laps later, much to the disappointment of some 10,000 Argentine fans at Interlagos, Franco Colapinto, Williams driver. crashed. That meant a red flag, just minutes after leaders Russell and Norris pitted. Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly changed their tires without losing their positions, putting Norris under even greater pressure to deliver.

“It was the right time to box,” Norris said after the race. “We were just unlucky.”

“Today I did everything I could. That’s all. Max won the race. Good for him, well done, but that doesn’t change anything for me,” he added.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who finished 10th, also praised Verstappen’s performance in the rain in Sao Paulo.

“An incredible journey, congratulations,” the seven-time champion said on Instagram.

Hulkenberg was disqualified after receiving a rare black flag before the restart because he had received help from the stewards to return to the track.

The bumpy track at Interlagos was criticized by drivers, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was treated for back pain after the race.

Previously, in most emotional moment Over the weekend at Interlagos, many fans in the stands cried when Hamilton drove the late Ayrton Senna’s car before the race. The seven-time champion did some laps in the rain in the historic McLaren MP4/5B that Senna drove during his 1990 title campaign, in which he beat Ferrari’s Alain Prost.

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