Liam Lawson driving on the Interlagos Circuit, in Sao Paulo. Photo: photosport
New Zealander Liam Lawson has equalled his best Formula One result after finishing ninth in wet conditions at the Brazilian Grand Prix, which saw Red Bull's Max Verstappen drive to victory from 17th place.
Verstappen now stands on the brink of a fourth Formula One title, with his remarkable drive dealing a shattering blow to Lando Norris's hopes.
McLaren's Norris, who started the wet and chaotic Sao Paulo race on pole position and 44 points behind Verstappen, finished sixth and is under investigation for a procedural infringement at the initial aborted start.
Lawson was largely pleased with his performance.
"Two cars in the points is good, it's great for the team. I think obviously from where we started it's a bit of a shame. I think our race really got unwound a little bit when we got turned around at the start but I think obviously then we boxed for extremes. It was tough but honestly the survive was hard enough, it was a very brutal race," Lawson said.
The title gap meanwhile blew out to 62 points, possibly more if the stewards penalise the Briton, with three rounds remaining.
If results go his way, Verstappen could hit the jackpot in the next race in Las Vegas on 23 November.
In a crash-strewn race halted after 33 laps and re-started, Verstappen took his eighth win of the season by a mighty 19.477 seconds and with a bonus point for fastest lap.
"We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and stayed calm and we were flying so all of these things together made that result possible," said Verstappen.
"But I mean - unbelievable, to win here from so far back on the grid."
With team boss Christian Horner acclaiming a masterclass of a drive from one of the sport's greats, the win ended a 10-race losing streak for the 27-year-old Dutch driver dating back to Spain in June.
Amid the mayhem at Interlagos, Alpine took an astonishing points bonanza with Esteban Ocon second and Pierre Gasly third - rocketing the Renault-owned team from ninth to sixth in the standings.
On Alpine's extraordinary jump to sixth in the constructors' standings with today's double podium, Lawson said "they made the most of a carnage race like this, yeah congrats to them."
George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc fifth.
Red Bull's Lawson started from fifth on the grid - his best qualifying result, and did well to weather the shocking conditions.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Lawson, which put him in a spin, but he was able to recover relatively quickly.
Yuki Tsunoda was seventh for RB with Piastri eighth, and Mercedes's seven-times champion Lewis Hamilton 10th.
Verstappen now has 393 points to Norris's 331, with Leclerc on 307.
McLaren lead the constructors' standings with 593 points to Ferrari's 557, although that could change if Norris gets a penalty.
- Reuters/RNZ