Oscar Piastri caught in ugly backlash as Max Verstappen delivers hammer blow to Lando Norris

F1 fans have accused Oscar Piatsri of not trying hard enough to prevent Max Verstappen from passing him in the Brazilian Grand Prix and eventually inflicting a massive blow on teammate Lando Norris. Piastri proved himself to be the perfect team man on Saturday in Sao Paulo when he allowed Norris to overtake him and win the sprint race, edging closer to Verstappen in the championship.

But it was a completely different story on Sunday as Verstappen mowed down his rivals after starting in 17th place to claim a stunning victory. The Red Bull driver extended his lead to 62 points over Norris after the Briton fluffed his race after starting from pole.

In a wet and chaotic race involving a number of incidents, Norris slid off the track twice and could only manage a sixth-place finish, while Verstappen took one step closer to a fourth world title. Verstappen showed some incredible skill to overtake 16 drivers during his rampage, and Piastri was one of them.

Verstappen slipped past the Aussie driver with ease on the 10th lap, leaving many to question whether Piastri had done enough to defend the Red Bull driver's charge. Some took to social media to suggest Piastri had done Norris a disservice by not trying to hold off Verstappen more. However others pointed out that Verstappen was simply in a class above on Sunday and there wasn't much anyone could do to stop him.

Max Verstappen on cusp of fourth F1 world title

It means Verstappen could seal the title in the next race in Las Vegas on November 23 if results go his way. After the crash-strewn race was halted after 33 laps and re-started, Verstappen took his eighth win of the season by a whopping 19.477 seconds and earned a bonus point for fastest lap.

"My emotions were all over the place, from wanting to destroy the garage (after qualifying) to winning the race," Verstappen said afterwards. "It has been a rollercoaster. It is unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid. I was expecting to lose points in the championship. Now, I just want clean races. But I am not thinking about clinching the title in Vegas."

The win ended a 10-race losing streak for the 27-year-old Dutch driver dating back to Spain in June. Amid the mayhem, Alpine secured an astonishing 1-2 as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished second and third respectively - rocketing the Renault-owned team from ninth to sixth in the standings. "I don't think anyone would have got that on their bingo card, it's just fantastic," said Gasly.

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Lando Norris claims Max Verstappen got lucky

Piastri endured a difficult day, crossing the line in seventh but being relegated to eighth after a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson. Verstappen now has 393 points in the championship compared to 331 for Norris, with Charles Leclerc third on 307 and Piastri in fourth on 262.

McLaren lead the constructors' standings with 593 points to Ferrari's 557. "It was a tough day, I did my best," Norris said. "I've had a lot of good races, it was about time that something didn't go right."

When Asked about Verstappen's performance, Norris said: "He drove well. He got a bit lucky today, but that's life. George (Russell) probably felt like he won the race today and he probably deserved to win the race more than anyone else did, but sometimes it's just unlucky and the rules go against you."

with agencies