‘It was a masterclass’ – Horner enthused by Verstappen’s sensational victory in Sao Paulo

Christian Horner appeared over the moon following Max Verstappen’s impressive recovery drive from P17 to P1 at Interlagos, as the championship swung significantly in his favour.

The Dutchman qualified out of position in P12 after he was unable to set a fast lap in Q2 due to a late red flag, and was then dropped further down the order by a five-place grid penalty for changing his engine.

READ MORE: Verstappen reflects on ‘absolutely crazy’ Sao Paulo GP after sublime climb from P17 to victory as he extends title lead

During the rain-affected, incident-filled Sao Paulo Grand Prix, he stormed through the field back into the points-paying positions before another red flag gave Red Bull a chance to change his tyres without losing any time in the race.

Verstappen later passed leader Esteban Ocon and established an insurmountable gap at the front of the pack where he went on to take victory by 19.477s, and claim the additional point for fastest lap.

“It was a masterclass from Max,” Team Principal Horner summarised after the race. “In difficult conditions on a very dreary day, he shone very brightly. To come from 17th on the grid, to have the patience, but also the attacking.

“He had his start, his first lap was outstanding. I think he passed six cars on the first lap. To win from that far back was beyond our wildest dreams this morning.”

MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How a sliding doors moment nearly saw Russell spoil Verstappen’s party in Sao Paulo

The reigning world champion had not won a Grand Prix since he beat Lando Norris in Spain, as the team struggled to overcome issues with their RB20 – McLaren and Ferrari improving over summer, as Red Bull marginally fell behind.

However, the RB20 looked rapid in the hands of Verstappen in Brazil as he set repeated fastest laps in the latter stages of the race, which helped him extend his lead over Norris in the drivers’ standings to 62 points.

Horner said: “He had the pace, we had a great car today. I think it’s testimony to the hard work in Milton Keynes that’s going on behind the scenes. We’ve had a difficult patch but everybody’s worked hard to get back into a winning position. That’s what we’ve done today, and Max used the car to full advantage.”

If Verstappen continues to score well in the remaining three race weekends, it is highly unlikely that Norris could close the points gap to any significant degree, although it is still mathematically possible.

READ MORE: What Verstappen needs to do to take his fourth title in Las Vegas after his epic Sao Paulo Grand Prix win

Speaking about his driver’s major points haul, Horner said: “Well look, it was a big hit today but we’ve still got to close it out. The constructors’ we still don’t give up on. We missed an opportunity to have both scoring there today but there’s still three more opportunities.”

McLaren may be close to losing out on the drivers’ championship, but they still lead the constructors’ with 593 points – Ferrari find themselves 36 points behind, with the Milton Keynes outfit a further 13 points back in P3.

The bad news for Red Bull is that Sergio Perez failed to score in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, crossing the line less than a second behind 10th-placed Lewis Hamilton.

A driver error on the opening lap saw him plummet to last position, and his recovery drive was not enough to sneak into the top 10.

READ MORE: Norris and Russell punished over formation lap incident in Sao Paulo GP as Mercedes receive fines for tyre pressure infringement

“It was frustrating,” Horner summarised. “The spin on the first lap was annoying and then he did his best to fight back. To finish out of the points today is frustrating when we had a fast car, but he’ll brush himself down and fight back in Las Vegas.”