When Lando Norris made his second stop of the Brazilian Grand Prix at the end of lap 50, it put Max Verstappen - who'd started from the pitlane - in the lead. Verstappen later made a final stop while just under seven seconds ahead, ceding the lead as Red Bull doubted that the four-time champion could hang on with aging tyres.
Verstappen was eight seconds ahead of Norris when the Briton emerged from the pitlane, falling to seven seconds two laps later. With 16 laps on the mediums, while Norris now had box-fresh C3s, Red Bull called Verstappen in on lap 54 when the lead had dropped to 6.5s.
