Verstappen's Sao Paulo recovery drive, and his car's problem

Max Verstappen started the Sao Paulo Grand Prix 21st after a power unit penalty and finished second, 14.602 seconds behind Lando Norris. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said no simulation would predict a climb from P21 to P2, and he praised the balance of the car.

Verstappen said the car changed after switching from intermediates to softs, with extreme oversteer in high-speed corners. Dialling that out, he said, killed his front tyres, and he suspected something had fallen off or broken. Over a stint, his lap times stayed flat while Norris improved as his fuel burned off.

Data suggests Isack Hadjar's pace was a factor, and Mekies rated it Hadjar's best race for the team in terms of pure pace. Telemetry put most of Hadjar's advantage on the straights rather than in the corners.