Sao Paulo, Brazil (AFP) — Max Verstappen may be 36 points off title leader Lando Norris, but he will be the man to beat this weekend as he seeks to complete a hat-trick of Interlagos victories.

The 28-year-old four-time world champion has won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix three times for Red Bull — in 2019, 2023 and 2024.

Last year, he triumphed from 17th on the grid with a virtuoso drive in heavy rain as Norris, seeking to cut the Dutchman’s lead, finished sixth.

This time, it is the champion who is hunting down the McLaren men who head the title race.

Norris leads teammate Oscar Piastri by one point after his Mexican win, but with four race weekends remaining, it appears Verstappen is on a roll.

Three wins and six consecutive podium finishes have lifted him back into contention after being 104 points behind at the end of August, and, as he has admitted, he loves to race in Brazil. 

“It is a special place for me,” he said.

“Not only because of the incredible races and great moments that we have had there, but also because my ‘family-in-laws’” are from Brazil.

“It can rain heavily, so you can have crazy races like last year, which was emotional and very important in the championship.”

Verstappen’s partner, Kelly Piquet, is the daughter of three-time champion Nelson Piquet and the mother of his daughter Lily, born in May this year.

He has been staying with the family in Brazil ahead of this weekend’s race. 

“I will wear my special Brazil helmet for this race,” said Verstappen.

“It’s a place that has a lot of history and a great legacy and holds so many great memories for me. And I always love racing at such an ‘old school’ track.”

Victory in Mexico was a boost for Norris, whose best Brazil result was second two years ago, while Piastri, struggling to recover his earlier vim and consistency, was a personal best eighth last year. 

As Red Bull continues to develop their 2025 car, McLaren has turned their attention to next year’s new rules, apparently allowing others to steal the initiative — until Norris responded in emphatic style. 

Team chief Andrea Stella said after the 25-year-old Briton’s win that he believed both McLaren drivers had reasons to be confident ahead of the final four race weekends with sprints included in Brazil and Qatar. 

Late threat 

“We go into these races with more understanding of how to extract performance from our car consistently because over the four races before Mexico, we left some performance in the garage,” he said. 

Having struggled in low-grip conditions, Piastri has worked to adapt his style and felt after Mexico that he was in a better position than many observers believed, even if Norris has reeled off five successes against him in their intra-team duel.

“In the final four races, I think there is no reason to believe that one track may favour one driver or the other,” added Stella, aware also of the mounting late threat from not only Verstappen, but also Ferrari and Mercedes as three teams scrap for second place in the constructors’ championship. 

McLaren wrapped up their second title several weeks ago and arrived in Brazil on 713 points, but behind the Ferrari on 356 points, Mercedes on 355, and Red Bull on 346. 

“We’ve had a couple of tough weekends, but we’re still in the fight for P2,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

“Our advantage over our rivals disappeared across Austin and Mexico, but we can strike back in Brazil.”

Mercedes’ George Russell won in Brazil in 2022, while Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has also revelled in some thrilling triumphs at Interlagos in 2016, 2018, and 2021 while driving for Mercedes.