Another Interlagos masterclass in the books, but Verstappen still isn't satisfied

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix is starting to feel like a bit of an exhibition race for Max Verstappen.

In 2024, with Lando Norris threatening to mount a comeback and take the drivers’ championship fight down to the final rounds, the Dutchman superbly climbed from 17th on the grid to take victory and all but end the discussion.

Last year, Verstappen was the one doing the chasing. And on that occasion his task was made even harder by starting from the pit lane. Yet he still wasn’t to be denied a podium place, and very nearly made it into second but for Kimi Antonelli’s excellent defense in the closing laps.

Impressively, Red Bull has turned its 2026 car into a regular winner once again, even amid such strong opposition as a new power unit manufacturer. Yet starting from 21st place provided an enormous challenge to try and continue a podium run that stretches back to the Dutch Grand Prix in August.

No bother. Verstappen scythed through the field early on and ultimately secured a second place that looked like it could even be a victory at one stage. The four-time world champion had similar belief, until he hit handling problems that hurt his hopes.

“When you start that far back, you need to try and get by the guys ahead of you as quickly as you can,” Verstappen said. “I do think that first stint went really, really well. We got very quickly back into the top 10, and I think the pace wasn't bad. But as soon as I switched to the slicks, I had an extreme amount of oversteer in the car in the high-speed corners, which made it super difficult to drive.

“So, we need to understand if something broke on the car, some kind of aero loss or whatever, because this was not normal. I sit here, of course, very happy with second, but at the same time, I know there was more in it if the car had been in good shape. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

“I actually did most of the race with a car that was not in good shape, and to finish second, of course, is fantastic. Maybe next year I'd love to start a bit further up front instead of starting from the back or the pit lane, but we'll find out next year. It's been good.

“In the wet, it probably also gives you a few more opportunities to get by cars. You can do some different lines and have more opportunities, so that definitely helped me today. But we also have to understand why or what went wrong with the car as soon as we went to the slick tires, because even when I switched back to the intermediate tires at the end, the car was night and day different to my first stint, which shows that there is something wrong.”

As good as his first stint was, Verstappen’s progress was slightly overshadowed by Lewis Hamilton’s on the opening lap, as Hamilton gained 11 places in the opening few corners. Verstappen was with his old rival – who had stared one spot ahead of him in 20th – within the opening three laps, but pointed to his start as another sub-optimal part of his drive.

"Lewis had a very good first lap," said Verstappen. "He could really get through those cars, so I was a little bit disappointed that I couldn't make the same headway. But then, within two laps, I was just flying by cars almost every corner." Alex Pantling/Getty Images

“To be honest, I had a very slow reaction time off the line because I was holding the clutch wrong, so I had to react very quickly," he said. "Then I was slow off the line, and that was my mistake. But then I just got a bit unlucky in the first three corners, where it was just like a traffic jam. There were three or four cars in front blocking basically how much I could pass.

“Actually, Lewis had a very good first lap. He could really get through those cars, so I was a little bit disappointed that I couldn't make the same headway. But then, within two laps, I was just flying by cars, almost every corner. We had a lot more grip, I guess, than most in the midfield. I don't know what lap I was in the top 10, but it all happened very quickly.”

By the checkered flag, Verstappen had gained 19 places, even exceeding the progress he made in each of the previous two years. Given his ability to do it with such regularity at Interlagos, his team principal Laurent Mekies even admitted post-race that “we tend to take it for granted now”, as he tried to reinforce just how impressive the performance was.

The lowly starts have been due to power unit penalties that are often targeted for Brazil due to the potential for overtaking and wet weather, but despite his next challenge being to gain more than 19 positions in one race, Verstappen insists he’d rather an easier afternoon running from the front.

“To be honest with you, I like starting [higher]," said Verstappen. "I like races like this, but next year, let's try and just start a bit further up front, please. That would be great to start with.

“I guess also experience helps a lot over the years, even dealing with difficulties during the race or knowing when not to risk it too much. I guess that also helped today because it was definitely not a straightforward race for me, with the car. But we still pulled out a good result.

“We wanted to score points, and we scored a good amount of points. This track in the past has always been good to me. Since I basically started racing here, I enjoy coming here. So, it's always been kind to me, and sometimes it just clicks more naturally than at other tracks as well.”

To start the past three races at Interlagos from 17th, the pit lane, and 21st, and score a total of 59 points from a maximum possible score of 76 – even adding the fastest lap point to boot in 2024 – is a truly remarkable return.

Verstappen might want to line up nearer the front in 2027, but something tells me the majority of fans would gladly take another fightback scenario given those results.