Max Verstappen has declined to withdraw from the F1 title race, insisting he “has to be realistic” despite a thrilling comeback to finish third at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Verstappen bounced back from his pit lane start with an incredible drive to extend his streak of consecutive podium finishes to seven races.
However, championship leader Lando Norris also won the sprint at Interlagos on Saturday, increasing Verstappen’s points lead to 49 points with three races left in the season.
Verstappen had already said after Saturday’s Q1 loss that he could “forget” about winning a fifth consecutive drivers’ title, and he reiterated that sentiment after Sunday’s race.
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Check out the best overtakes from Max Verstappen’s incredible performance from the pit lane to the podium at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
He told Sky Sports F1: “We have already lost too many points from the beginning of the season to the middle of the season.
“It was quite surprising that we were in that situation so far, but we have to be realistic because we haven’t been good enough all season.
“But we’re going to do everything we can until the end of the season to get highlights and win races. That’s what we’re here for.”
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Sao Paulo Grand Prix Highlights
“I like that the team never gives up.”
Verstappen’s worst qualifying result since 2021 came after Red Bull attempted significant changes to his car’s set-up after he fell off the pace in a sprint event.
The Dutchman qualified sixth and finished fourth in the sprint, but felt changes were needed to give him a chance to compete with McLaren in full-length events.
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Max Verstappen loses Q1 at Sao Paulo GP as Jos flies out of Red Bull garage
The attempt backfired badly, with Verstappen struggling with his car’s handling in qualifying and losing in Q1 for the first time since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
Despite this, he claimed that he was glad the team had progressed towards bankruptcy rather than being complacent that it had fallen off McLaren’s pace.
“What I like is that, certainly this weekend was very difficult for us, but the team never gives up,” he said.
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Kimi Antonelli stops Max Verstappen from taking second place in final lap drama as Lando Norris wins in Sao Paulo
“We always want to be better and we never settle for second place. Otherwise it would be easy to say after the sprint, ‘Let’s not touch the car, we’re not that bad, let’s not take any risks’. I don’t think that’s the mentality of the team.”
“We always want to push for more performance, and of course it didn’t work out for us in qualifying, but that allowed us to change the car again and make it a more competitive car today.”
F1’s thrilling title race continues until the Las Vegas Grand Prix from November 21-23, broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
