From pit lane to podium, Max takes P3 in Sao Paulo: 'We never give up'

Published on 09 November 2025 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen secured an impressive third place in the Brazilian Grand Prix after a phenomenal recovery drive from the pit lane. The reigning world champion charged forward with strong pace and brilliant overtakes, ultimately falling just three-tenths short of keeping Kimi Antonelli behind in P2. Lando Norris claimed victory, extending his championship lead, while George Russell and Oscar Piastri completed the top five in São Paulo.

“The race was full on, a lot of action,” Max said after the race. “I had to overtake some cars, of course, coming from the pit lane, I think our pace was quite strong over all the stints. It is quite hard to know with traffic and stuff; to be on the podium from the pitlane, I did not expect that at all. With a puncture as well, at the beginning of the race, which why we had to box again.”

The Dutchman reflected proudly on the result: “An incredible result for us. I am very happy with that, and just very proud of everyone in the team. Yesterday was very tough, but we never give up. We always try to improve, and try to find more lap time, and luckily, we found that again today.”

Verstappen stressed that the race was far from easy: “I was just trying to pass as fast as possible, because you do not want to lose too much time. Some cars were also in a DRS train, so it was not always straight forward. But with all that and finish only about ten seconds behind the leader, that is really incredible for us. If it clicks and it feels right, I also know it is possible."

At the moment, the gap with championship leader Lando Norris is 49 points. “That is a lot,” says Max. “But of course, we have not given the championship away here. We have already lost a lot earlier simply because we were not good enough. That is how you lose a championship. Of course, there have been moments when things went a bit more smoothly, but you must be realistic. Overall, they are more all-round than us. But naturally, we are going to do everything we can to win a few more races.”

Max started in Brazil from the pit lane after a disastrous qualifying left him only P16. A big recovery was required, but he had already proved last year at this circuit that it was possible. At the start, the front ran smoothly. Polesitter Lando Norris kept Kimi Antonelli behind, but chaos struck further back: Lewis Hamilton collided with Colapinto, requiring a pit stop for a broken front wing and damaged floor. Home favourite Gabriel Bortoleto continued his weekend of misfortune, ending up in the wall after contact with Lance Stroll, which triggered the first safety car of the race.

On lap five, the restart brought more chaos. Oscar Piastri attempted a bold double overtake on Leclerc and Antonelli but had little space and clipped the Mercedes, taking Leclerc out of the race with a broken suspension and causing a second safety car. Verstappen used the opportunity to switch from softs to medium tyres after his puncture.

After the next restart, Piastri immediately tried to attack Norris but didn’t get close enough. Meanwhile, Verstappen was flying on his fresh tyres, rapidly moving up from P16. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda had a tougher race, receiving a ten-second penalty for spinning Stroll. Hamilton struggled with his damaged floor but continued after a second pit stop. Piastri also received a ten-second penalty for the earlier incident.

Verstappen overtook Hamilton, Hülkenberg, and Alonso, benefiting from pit stops ahead of him. By lap 24, he was already in P4, nine seconds behind Russell, with only Norris ahead. Hamilton’s day worsened with a five-second penalty for his first-lap collision with Colapinto. On lap 31, race leader Norris pitted for his first stop, switching to soft tyres and clearly opting for a two-stop strategy. He rejoined behind Verstappen in P4. Verstappen completed 23 laps on his mediums, unable to hold Norris behind. Tsunoda received another ten-second penalty for failing to serve his first correctly.

On lap 35, Verstappen made his second stop, taking new mediums and dropping to P12, but immediately began another overtaking spree. Within a few laps, he passed Sainz and Lawson, and with further pit stops ahead, he quickly moved back up to P5. On lap 39, Hamilton retired, giving Ferrari a double DNF. Piastri served his penalty after pitting and rejoined P8, quickly overtaking Lawson and joining Verstappen. As Bearman, Antonelli, and Russell pitted, Verstappen moved into P2. When Norris pitted on lap 51 for his second stop, Max briefly led the race. “Not bad,” came the radio message. The gap from Norris to Max was eight seconds.

Piastri pitted again, dropping to P7. On lap 55, Max made his final stop, returning in P4 on soft tyres. With ten laps remaining, he closed in on Russell, executing a brilliant outside move at Turn 1 to take third. With five laps to go, Antonelli was in his sights. Max was within DRS, but the young Mercedes driver defended strongly. Meanwhile, Piastri loomed behind the other Mercedes, ready to pounce on any small mistake. Verstappen kept the pressure on, but Antonelli held firm. At the finish, the gap was just three-tenths: Antonelli second, Verstappen third. Championship leader Norris took the win, extending his lead, while Russell and Piastri finished fourth and fifth.

Max’s special Brazilian helmet is now available as a scale model (1:2 and 1:4). In addition, a Brazilian cap, sport shirt, and zip hoodie have been launched! Check it out: https://www.verstappen.com/collections/brazil-collection

Results Grand Prix Brazil: