Max Verstappen completed an emphatic victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo escaped injury when his car was struck by a flying tyre.
Lando Norris finished second for McLaren, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso holding off Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by just 0.053 seconds for third.
But it was an abysmal afternoon for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton eighth and George Russell forced to retire his car with an engine failure 12 laps from the end. Hamilton crossed the line an eye-watering 63 seconds behind.
The race in Sao Paulo was suspended following a chaotic start which saw a loose tyre hit Ricciardo’s rear wing following a collision between Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg.
Albon, 13th on the grid, drew alongside Hulkenberg ahead of the first corner, but the two machines made contact, sending the London-born driver into Hulkenberg’s Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen and then into the barrier.
The force of the impact tore the left-rear off Albon’s Williams, with the bouncing tyre – which weighs 13 kilograms – narrowly flying over the top of Ricciardo’s head before smashing into the back of his AlphaTauri.
Footage from Ricciardo’s cockpit shows him turning sharply to the left to avoid the flying rubber.
“I tried to miss it, but the tyre was in the air and it clipped my rear wing,” he said.
The Australian driver, 34, was able to limp back to the pits for the repairs following the fortunate escape, while both Albon and Magnussen emerged unscathed.
Hulkenberg was able to carry on before the race was red-flagged for 25 minutes as the tyre barrier on the approach to the opening bend was repaired following Albon’s shunt.
Norris lined up in second place for the restart following a fine getaway by the British driver from sixth. Hamilton made up two places from fifth to take third on the grid for the second start.
Verstappen mastered the getaway to keep his Red Bull ahead of Norris before Alonso made light work of Hamilton to gazump the British driver at the Curva do Lago.
On lap eight, Norris was suddenly in Verstappen’s slipstream and for a handful of corners it looked as though he could do the unthinkable and take the lead.
Norris drew alongside Verstappen at the outside of Turn 4 to provide the Dutchman with a rare fright. But by the start of the lap, Verstappen had established a lead of more than one second, and for Norris, Verstappen was out of DRS range.
Behind, and it was starting to unravel for Mercedes. Performances at the previous two rounds had afforded Hamilton and the grid’s once-all-conquering team hope that they were closing the gap to the top. But they were dealt a desperate reality check here.
On laps 14 and 18, Perez cruised ahead of Russell and Hamilton respectively before Russell bemoaned that he was being held up by his team-mate.
“Are we working together, or are we just doing our own races?” Russell asked.
Hamilton stopped for rubber, with Russell following his team-mate in on the next lap. Perez came in three laps later than Hamilton and had to re-pass the seven-time world champion, which he did with ease on lap 23. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll then blasted his way past the out-of-sorts Mercedes pair.
Russell, now seventh, was growing increasingly frustrated with Hamilton struggling for pace. Russell wanted Mercedes to order Hamilton out of his way.
“Do you want me to race or concede positions?” he asked.
Later, he added: “I haven’t been on the radio because I thought it was quite obvious about the pace.”
Mercedes were unmoved as Russell tried and failed to make his way ahead of Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz was soon all over the back of the squabbling Mercedes men, cruising past Russell on lap 35, and then Hamilton two laps later.
The Silver Arrows tumbled back through the field, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly moving ahead of Russell for eighth on lap 43.
Russell stopped for a second time on lap 45 with Hamilton in a lap later, only for Gasly to take another position off Hamilton to leave the seven-time world champion in eighth – that is where he would finish.
Hamilton now trails Perez by 32 points in the race for runner-up after the Mexican failed to take the final spot on the podium.
Perez got ahead of Alonso on the penultimate lap only for the Spaniard to blast back ahead on the last lap. The two drivers then went toe to toe on the drag to the finish line, with Alonso narrowly remaining ahead.
Hamilton could 'take a holiday' after Sao Paulo disappointment
Lewis Hamilton says he "could happily go and take a holiday" instead of finishing the season after a dismal showing at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
He made early exits in both qualifying sessions and started the race at Interlagos from 15th on the grid.
However, unlike Max Verstappen, who impressively won the race having started in 17th, the Brit struggled to mount much of a fight, coming away from the weekend with just one point after finishing in 10th.
His performance was made to look worse as team-mate George Russell had been battling for the lead but narrowly missed out on a podium place as he finished fourth.
Hamilton only has three races left with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, bringing an end to their 12-year partnership.
But he was left frustrated in Brazil, expressing his disappointment with the car.
"We were just slow," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "The car was really, really tough. I do really want to say still a big thank you to the guys in the garage. They turned up super early this morning and still did a great job throughout the weekend.
"The team could have won also, so at least one car was behaving a lot better.
"The car is like a plank of wood. It's like no suspension.
"It's bouncing on the tyres everywhere, and you can't get on the power anywhere. It's just the worst ride, I think the worst ride that we've definitely ever had, particularly through corners. It's just so stiff.
"But hopefully we won't have any more bumpy tracks. I think the last three aren't so bumpy. But yeah, I could happily go and take a holiday."
Norris claims Verstappen 'got lucky' in Brazil as title hopes fade
Lando Norris said Max Verstappen benefitted from a rule "no one agrees with" as he won a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix to leave the McLaren's title hopes hanging by a thread.
Verstappen surged to a terrific victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, with Norris faltering after starting on pole.
Norris and Mercedes' George Russell – who were vying for the lead – both pitted on lap 29, but that strategy backfired as the red flag was shown following a crash involving Franco Colapinto.
With the race suspended, Verstappen was also able to change tires for the restart, negating Norris' advantage from pitting as the world champion raced to a commanding victory.
Norris had cut Verstappen's drivers' championship lead to 44 points by winning Saturday's sprint race but now sits 62 points adrift with just three races of the season remaining.
The Brit refused to hit out at McLaren's strategy after the race, though, putting his struggles down to bad luck.
"I have faith in the team in what they are saying and they have trust in me," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It was just unlucky. I don't care about the hindsight side of things, that's luck for them, nothing more.
"They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it today but every driver has disagreed with it in the past.
"Today it benefitted them, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that's a stupid thing to think of.
"Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing. Max drove well. He got a bit lucky but that's life."
Verstappen 'wanted to destroy' Red Bull garage before Sao Paulo triumph
Max Verstappen revealed he wanted to destroy the Red Bull garage in the hours before he delivered a wet-weather performance for the ages to win the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Verstappen had been left frustrated after Sunday's delayed qualifying session, when a crash by Lance Stroll and subsequent red flag saw him drop out of Q2.
The Dutchman's early exit saw him finish 12th, but a five-place grid penalty for an engine change dropped him to 17th, presenting an opportunity for Lando Norris to take a seismic chunk out of his drivers' championship lead.
But a determined Verstappen then overcame the rain-affected conditions at Interlagos, climbing to P11 on the very first lap before making his charge into the top 10.
His remarkable comeback, which included five consecutive fastest laps, culminated in him passing Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for the lead on lap 43 before romping to victory.
“My emotions were all over the place, from wanting to destroy the garage (after qualifying) to winning the race,” said Verstappen. “It has been a roller coaster.
“It is unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid. I was expecting to lose points in the championship.
"Now, I just want clean races. But I am not thinking about clinching the title in Vegas.”
A rain-affected race saw several incidents, with Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Carlos Sainz all failing to finish the race.
But Verstappen remained calm in those conditions, snapping his 10-race winless streak, while also becoming the first driver since Kimi Raikkonen at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005 to emerge victorious after gaining 16 positions.
And the three-time world champion believed his latest win, which was his 62nd in the competition, was his best one to date.
“The rain came, we stayed out, which was very sketchy, and I had to just keep the car on track,” continued Verstappen.
“It was undriveable in the conditions. I felt like I was driving a boat, or a jet-ski.
“There was a lot at stake because I had to be aware of the championship, so for me this is the best one (victory).
"And it is a massive boost for the team because it has been a tough period.”
Verstappen is now 62 points clear of Norris in the drivers' championship with just 86 points remaining, and can win a fourth consecutive drivers' title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
However, he insisted that the season was far from over, acknowledging he must remain perfect in the final three races to get over the line after an up and down season.
“Now it’s of course a great result, which if you look a few hours ago, was definitely the other way around, looking like we were going to lose a lot of points," he said.
“So I’m very happy, but still three tough races [to go], so we just need to stay calm and make no mistakes.
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