RacingNews365 asks readers to pick Verstappen’s best São Paulo comeback

RacingNews365 is asking readers which of Max Verstappen’s São Paulo Grand Prix drives from 2024, 2025 and 2026 was his best: the 2024 win, the pit-lane-to-third recovery in 2025, or the climb from 21st to second in 2026.

Verstappen’s 2024 victory came in heavy rain. He was 17th on the grid, but with Alex Albon and Lance Stroll not starting, he effectively began the race 15th. He and Red Bull stayed on intermediates through the changing conditions; the red flag then allowed a tyre change without the usual time lost in the pit lane. Verstappen passed the leaders in the spray and won by more than 19 seconds over Esteban Ocon, also taking the fastest lap.

In 2025, a fresh Honda power unit fitted under parc-ferme rules meant Verstappen started from the pit lane. A right-front puncture forced an unplanned stop on lap six, shifting him onto an offset tyre strategy: he spent most of the race on mediums, then used fresh softs to pass George Russell. He finished third behind Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli.

Red Bull’s installation of power-unit components beyond Verstappen’s seasonal allocation incurred an aggregate 30-place grid penalty in 2026, leaving him 21st in the 21-car field. In a race that changed from wet to dry and back again, his opening stint on intermediates took him into the top six by lap eight; two stints on softs moved him up to second. He was 7.5 seconds behind Norris when the final inter stint began, but could not reproduce his opening pace and finished 14.602 seconds back.