SAO PAULO(AP) — Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen considers his race last year at Interlagos in the pouring rain — when he moved up from 17th at the start to win the Brazilian Grand Prix — to be a career highlight.

He wasn't too far from matching that feat on Sunday after starting the 2025 race in the pit lane and finishing on the podium.

Verstappen had been set for a frustrating weekend in Sao Paulo after he qualified only 16th for the race. The Dutch driver even said he had lost any chance of lifting the title this season. But then his team spent Saturday night making sweeping changes to his car, including a new engine.

All that effort paid off and kept alive Verstappen's long shot this year at a fifth title. His surprising third place put him on 341 points in the driver

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