Kiwi Liam Lawson has picked up more valuable championship points at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, but lost ground to one of his rivals for a fulltime Red Bull seat next year.
The Formula One rookie has finished ninth in wet conditions at iconic Interlagos in Brazil, matching his highest finish in the premier motorsport competition, which he previously achieved at Singapore last year and Texas last month.
His showing in the main race did not live up to his best-ever qualifying effort, where he placed fifth on the grid, heading off a plethora of former champions, including four-time reigning titleholder Max Verstappen, who could not progress past Q2 and started 17th, after a five-spot penalty. The Dutchman would ultimately recover to win the main event, restoring a buffer over his nearest pursuer for this year's crown.
Both performances by Lawson were also tempered by the fact he finished behind Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who has had trouble keeping his car on the track in dry conditions, but seemed unfazed by the inclement weather to place third in qualifying and seventh in the grand prix.
Lawson and Tusnoda are challenging Mexican Sergio Perez for his seat in the top Red Bull line-up, with Lawson probably having his nose ahead until now. Perez finished 11th, after qualifying 13th.
In qualifying, delayed 24 hours for the rain, the entire field began conservatively, with Verstappen the fastest through Q1 in 1m 28.522s and Lawson more than two seconds slower in 14th. When the pace picked up in the second stage, the Kiwis hacked more than five seconds (1m 25.654a) off his time for fourth fastest and then took another second off (1m 24.484s) in his only counting Q3 lap.
Brit Lando Norris grabbed pole with 1m 23.405s, from countryman George Russell (1m 23.578s) and Tsunoda (1m 24.11).
"Firstly, I'm happy for the team... very, very happy," said Lawson after qualifying. "It's a great position for the afternoon and congrats to Yuki, he's done a very good job.
"Personally, I'm frustrated that I made a really big mistake and lost a lot of time. Obviously, we all went out there — or most of us went out there — for that one lap and unfortunately you pay the price for that, but very happy for the team.
"This is an epic starting position for the afternoon."
The main event was severely disrupted by rain and red flags, with the drivers leaving their cars at one point during the mayhem. Lawson survived minor brushes with Perez and Aussie Oscar Piastri to reach the end intact.
"Having two cars in the points is good," he reflected. "It's great for the team, but from where we started, it's a bit of a shame.
"Our race really got undone when we got turned around at the start... it was tough, but to survive was hard enough. It was a very brutal race."
Meanwhile, Verstappen stands on the brink of his fourth title, after a landmark drive to victory that dealt a shattering blow to Norris' hopes.
McLaren's Norris, who started the wet and chaotic race on pole and 44 points behind Verstappen, finished sixth and was left under investigation for a procedural infringement at the initial aborted start.
Meanwhile, the title gap blew out to 62 points, possibly more, if the stewards penalise the Briton, with three rounds remaining.
If results go his way, Verstappen could hit the jackpot in the next race at Las Vegas on November 23.
The rookie matched his best finish, after a stunning qualifying performance in the wet. (Source: 1News)
In a crash-strewn race halted after 33 laps and re-started, Verstappen took his eighth win of the season by a mighty 19.477 seconds and with a bonus point for fastest lap.
"We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and stayed calm and we were flying, so all of these things together made that result possible, but I mean, unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid," he said.
With team boss Christian Horner acclaiming a masterclass of a drive from one of the sport's greats, the win ended a 10-race losing streak dating back to Spain in June.
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