The recovery stopped short of victory
Max Verstappen finished second from twenty-first on the grid at the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Isack Hadjar third. Their final deficits to Lando Norris were 14.602 and 24.485 seconds.
His starting position followed a specific penalty: he qualified sixteenth, but using fifth examples of the engine, turbocharger and exhaust set had incurred ten grid places each, totalling thirty. The FIA’s final grid placed him twenty-first. On intermediates in the opening stint, he passed car after car and reached fifth by the switch to slick tyres.
Verstappen described a strong opening stint on intermediates with numerous passes. Switching to slicks brought a more difficult balance and oversteer. Performance improved again after the return to intermediates.
Once second, he could not substantially reduce Norris’s advantage. The podium was an excellent recovery, without removing the need to understand the middle stint.
Hadjar manages another difficult race
Hadjar started fifth and reached second during the middle phase. After running wide at Turn 1 and losing time, he was instructed to let Verstappen through. He acknowledged that fewer mistakes would have avoided an awkward situation between the cars.
Late rain also brought pressure from Antonelli and a slippery pit entry. Hadjar praised the crew’s composure. Red Bull completed another double podium after its earlier result in Azerbaijan.
In his official interview Verstappen questioned whether some damage might explain the unusual feeling. That remained a question, not a confirmed diagnosis. Laurent Mekies likewise said the change in balance on dry tyres required investigation and acknowledged Norris ultimately had more pace.
Verstappen has now reached the Brazil podium from the back in three successive editions: victory from seventeenth in 2024, third from the pit lane in 2025 and second from twenty-first this year. The circumstances differ, but provide context for the latest recovery.
