The 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend caused another massive shakeup in the F1 standings on Sunday, just not how most experts expected.
A Sprint race win for Lando Norris on Saturday plus a qualifying disaster and a five-place grid penalty for Max Verstappen early on Sunday suggested a big swing towards the British star was about to go down. Not so fast.
Instead the Dutchman produced an incredible drive from 17th on the grid to claim a famous victory and put more vital daylight between him and the McLaren man.
For Norris meanwhile, it was a disastrous afternoon in the Sao Paulo rain, as he slipped to a P6 finish after starting the race on pole.
F1 standings right now: What is Verstappen’s lead over Norris?
Right now Verstappen has a 62-point lead over Norris after an unexpected bounty of points in Brazil on Sunday.
A Sprint Race victory for Norris on Saturday had cut the gap, and there appeared to be the potential for another big swing on Sunday afternoon with 16 positions between the two men on the starting grid.
Max though redressed the balance with that masterful drive in wet conditions (and the fastest lap), and he now leads Lando by 62 points after outscoring his title rival. The current tally is 393 for Verstappen against 331 for Norris.
Next we have Las Vegas on November 23, Qatar on December 1 and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on December 8.
With Qatar also having a Sprint Race there are now a maximum total of 86 points available - 26 points for each Grand Prix proper (25 for a win plus a point for fastest lap) and then a maximum of 8 points for winning that Qatar Sprint.