Max Verstappen told 'ship has sailed' on record-equalling F1 dream

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has told Max Verstappen that the "ship has sailed" on the Red Bull driver's chances of winning a record-equalling fifth F1 drivers' title.

Verstappen delivered arguably the drive of the season in São Paulo on Sunday, becoming only the eighth driver in F1 history to land on the podium after starting from the pit lane.

Armed with a completely new power unit in his RB21, Verstappen scythed his way through the field on the back of a three-stop strategy, finishing just over 10 seconds adrift of race-winner Lando Norris, and 0.362s behind runner-up Kimi Antonelli.

McLaren driver Norris' seventh victory of the year has propelled him into a 24-point lead over team-mate Oscar Piastri, with Verstappen 49 adrift, with only 83 on the table from the final three grands prix in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Initially assessing the title fight between Norris and Piastri, and McLaren's handling of its drivers, Wolff remarked: "How they've handled it is very well. It's very good, letting them race. I don't see a situation where they're taking each other out."

Wolff then asked the assembled media, including RacingNews365: "How many points is Max behind?" When informed it is 49, the Austrian decisively added: "Okay, that ship has sailed."

Swinging back to McLaren, he continued: "Just let them race, make no contact.

"The gap that Lando has now is very, very solid, but he can't afford a DNF either because then it swings in the other direction.

"From a spectator standpoint, you would want to see it going into the last race, equal points, similar points.

"But he [Norris] has been impressive in the last few races now, with the nerves and how he has scored the points."

Wolff, though, did still at least reserve special praise for Verstappen and his performance from the back of the field, which included a very early, unplanned stop after sustaining a slow puncture.

Assessing Verstappen's astonishing drive, Wolff noted: "Well, it's quite interesting, with the big step they've made. A fresh engine, obviously, always helps, like we had with Lewis in the day."

That was with reference to Hamilton's drive in the 2021 edition of the race, when he won from 10th after taking on a new PU after qualifying.

Wolff then added: "But never discount Max, even if he starts from last. Last year, it was a wet race, so you kind of get your head around it, but that was a dry race.

"It's the reason why he's a four-time world champion."