Max Verstappen admits title F1 fight defeat and challenges Red Bull | F1 | Sport

He tried so hard and got so far but, in the end, it didn’t even matter. As he took the chequered flag being waved by Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda, Max Verstappen completed the sort of comeback drive – a second in as many years at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix – that reminded us that he remains the dominant force in Formula 1.

But, as he said after a storming comeback from the pit lane to third place at Interlagos on Sunday, Red Bull have not given him a car that has been consistently quick enough to stop McLaren and Lando Norris. A second all-time great comeback drive in as many visits to Sao Paulo was not enough to keep Verstappen within realistic striking distance of the drivers’ title.

“We don’t need to talk about the championship anymore – that’s over and done with,” he said on Saturday night, after the worst qualifying session of his F1 career. He hadn’t suffered a single Q1 exit for more than four years and, remarkably, had never qualified in the bottom five on pure pace alone. His six previous Q1 exits were caused either by crashes, mechanical failures or no lap time being set.

Red Bull elected to give him a new engine and make set-up changes to a car he had hated driving all weekend, in the hope of stumbling upon a formula that worked. And they did – even despite a puncture early in the race that set him back, Verstappen finally found his groove and cut through the field with ease.

He was third and just 11 seconds behind leader Norris when Shinoda had his Hands Held High with the flag. Verstappen is One Step Closer to Oscar Piastri in the battle for second place in the championship, having beaten the out-of-form Aussie again.

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But, 49 points adrift of leader Norris with three rounds remaining, he knows his title chances are Faint at best and has Given Up on what would have been a fifth consecutive drivers’ title. Not that Verstappen doesn’t still intend to win every race that’s left if he can.

He said: “We lost way too many points in the beginning of the season. That we were in that up until now was quite a surprise, but we have to be realistic. Over the whole season we haven’t been good enough, but we’ll still try to do what we can to score some highlights and try to win races. That’s what we’re here for.”

As for Piastri, a controversial 10-second penalty for his involvement in the collision with Kimi Antonelli which forced Charles Leclerc to retire with damage turned what was likely a comfortable second place into fifth.

Eight more points lost that have given Norris extra breathing space and have left the Aussie also at risk of falling out of realistic contention, 24 points behind.

“Very fine margins and tough moments and things that could easily go either way that are creating big consequences at the moment,” said Piastri, who must feel like the world is against him right now.