Fraser MasefieldIt was never really in any doubt that Max Verstappen had already stamped his name alongside the all-time greats of the sport.
He doesn’t need that verification. The stats speak for themselves. He can now also claim to have driven one of the greatest comeback drives in the history of the sport. On one of the greatest and most unforgiving of circuits.
An uncharacteristic and messy qualifying weekend left the Dutch maestro missing Q3 for the first time since 2021.
And rather from start the race from the grid slot of 16th, a joint decision was made to start from the pit lane, change the Power Unit and make some aero adjustments to the car.
Despite the bold call, all seemed lost when he picked up a slow puncture. It seemed a bitter blow, Max having charged through the field to 13th at the time. It meant another stop for medium tyres and more work to do from the back of the field once again.
What followed was one of the great F1 drives, Verstappen charging through the field to lead the race before pitting for a final stop for soft tyres.
The Interlagos crowd erupts as Max Verstappen climbs into the podium places #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/UmYlXxnCMD
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 9, 2025
For a while, it looked like he could even catch and pass the Mercedes of young Kimi Antonelli for second, before his tyres cried no more and he had to settle for third. It was still unquestionably one of the great pits to podium drives of all time.
“The race was quite full on – a lot of action!” Verstappen is quoted on the official Red Bull Racing website. “I had to overtake some cars, coming from the pit lane, but yeah, to be on the podium from the pit lane, I didn’t expect that at all – even with a puncture as well in the beginning of the race, that’s why we had to box again.
“Incredible result for us, very happy with that and just very proud of everyone within the Team as well. I mean, yesterday was very tough for us, but, you know, we never give up. We always try to improve and try to find more lap time. And luckily, we found that again today.
“The atmosphere at Interlagos was amazing and it really spurred me on. I am so proud of the Team and would like to thank them for all of the hard work that they put into making the changes post Quali last night.
“Now all we can do is keep fighting hard over the final few races of the season and do the best that we possibly can whilst trying to find as much performance as we can extract from the car. A huge congratulations to Kimi as well, he drove amazingly well which will have given his confidence a huge boost which is great for any rookie!”
Here’s what Max had to say after his epic pit lane to podium race 👇#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/SgORzRJp9q
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 9, 2025
Verstappen’s pit lane start to podium finish means he joins a very elite list of drivers to do so. The last? His great rival Lewis Hamilton, who also achieved a P3 at the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
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