Max Verstappen wins from 17th in stunning Brazilian Grand Prix drive to extend lead over Lando Norris

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took a major step toward securing his fourth straight F1 title by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix on Monday (AEDT), despite starting 17th, which saw him increase his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris with three races remaining.

The Dutchman could secure the trophy in Las Vegas this month.

In one of the best drives of his career, Verstappen overcame punishments before the race as well as the wet weather at Interlagos to earn his first victory since June, and his eighth grand prix win of the year.

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He also clocked the fastest lap at Interlagos, which he did 17 times during the race, and received an extra point.

The Dutchman increased his lead from 44 points to 62 over Norris, who won the weekend's sprint race.

Norris started in pole position but finished in a disappointing sixth position.

The British driver could see the gap increase further as a post-race investigation still looms for him.

Verstappen had been on course for a tough weekend in Sao Paulo. He received a five-place grid punishment after changing his engine for the sixth time in the season — the maximum allowed is four. He lost one point in the sprint race because of another penalty. And then his qualifying session earlier on Sunday was interrupted when he was 12th and trying to clock a fast lap to reach the final part of the session.

“My emotions today were a roller coaster,” Verstappen said after the race. “We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and we were flying.”

The two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, completed the podium. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who started the race with a long shot at the drivers' title, finished fifth.

F1 governing body FIA had rescheduled the qualifying session after heavy rain. The start of the grand prix was brought forward from 90 minutes, while many in the paddock still wondered whether the drivers would take their cockpits at all during the morning.

The tense race under rain in Sao Paulo had an aborted start when Aston Martin's Lance Stroll went off on the formation lap.

Norris could not hold his first position in the first turn, losing it to Mercedes' George Russell. The McLaren driver struggled until the end of the race to find his line under the rain, which Verstappen clearly managed to do from the start, finding grip where others couldn't in the inside of the track.

The big boost for Verstappen, and possibly a key moment in the drivers' championship, came when Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg spun off in the 27th of 69 laps. A virtual safety car came in and many drivers chose to go to their pit lanes. Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly chose not to stop.

Earlier, in the most emotional moment of the weekend at Interlagos, many fans on the stands cried when British driver Lewis Hamilton drove the late Ayrton Senna’s title-winning car ahead of the race. The seven-time champion took some laps under falling rain in the historic McLaren MP4/5B that Senna drove during his 1990 title campaign, in which he beat Ferrari’s Alain Prost.

Las Vegas will host the next race on November 24 (AEDT).