Verstappen sees crucial moment for title: 'Incredibly important'

Max Verstappen could make a statement about winning his fourth title at Interlagos. Whereas before the Grands Prix it looked like Lando Norris could close to gap to his rival, in the end, the opposite of that happened. The Dutchman also believes this Grand Prix marked an important moment in the title battle.

While Norris could start from pole position in Sao Paulo, Max Verstappen got relegated to P17 after a five-second penalty and getting eliminated in Q2. After the start, the Dutchman could make up many places, while the Briton lost the lead in to George Russell.

While Norris pitted with Russell under a VSC, Verstappen stayed out, even as the heavy rain caused the Safety Car to make an appearance. As Franco Colapinto was catching up to the pack at that moment, he crashed his Williams. The red flag was waved, and Verstappen got a 'free' pit stop. After that, the Red Bull driver did not look back, while Norris finished in P6.

According to Verstappen, this was a crucial moment in the championship battle. "This was now. Of course looking at it, it was incredibly important because in a way I was expecting to lose points today. So from now, I just want clean races to the end. I am not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever. I just want clean races," the driver who won his eighth Grand Prix in 2024 shared.

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