Verstappen had made rapid progress from his position at the back.
Initially, Lewis Hamilton, who started alongside Red Bull, progressed faster and finished ninth on the second lap, but Verstappen quickly regained his rhythm and overtook the Ferrari in two more laps and continued his progress.
By lap 10, Verstappen was in a remarkable sixth place and just behind the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, with Hadjar in front chasing Russell, who was then third after starting seventh.
But Russell dashed his own hopes when he pitted on lap 16, along with Norris, and spun at the exit of the pit lane, mirroring the racing in the Senna S’s first two corners inside the track.
Russell was sidelined in the pit lane as his rivals passed him left and right as he maneuvered straight again and rejoined the race, now 10th.
After that he rode well with a strong pace to get back into the race and a fourth place was a good result in the circumstances.
He had more pace than Antonelli in the closing laps and the team ordered them to swap positions as they sealed their ninth constructors’ title, and first since 2021.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished sixth, well off Norris’ pace, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished seventh after a topsy-turvy race ahead of Lawson and Hamilton.
After his first surge, the seven-time champion lacked pace, despite a decent attack for an early stop on the slicks, and was unable to gain more ground.
Despite leading Leclerc for much of the race, Hamilton fell behind on his second stop on slicks, with Leclerc hanging on as he switched to intermediates to consolidate his position.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg took the final point for 10th place.
Gn sports
