RED BULL BOSS HAILS MAX VERSTAPPEN'S BRAZIL PODIUM: "HE'S BEATING THE SIM ON A REGULAR BASIS"

Max Verstappen carved through the Brazil field from 21st to second, and Red Bull's Laurent Mekies says the team's simulations never saw it coming. "There is no sim in the world that will predict you will go from P21 to P2 or that you get 14 places in five laps," Mekies told media at Interlagos. "He's beating the sim on a regular basis."

The engine penalty that dropped Verstappen down the grid came from Red Bull Powertrains' first reliability issue since the team became a works operation this year after splitting from Honda. Mekies called it "a small issue on Friday" that forced the change—Verstappen's first penalty all season with the Ford-developed unit.

The result keeps Verstappen second in the standings with 279 points, 17 clear of George Russell. With Kimi Antonelli having wrapped the title in Mexico, the runner-up fight is all that's left. Verstappen just made that gap look comfortable.