When the world championship is finally decided, the moment where it was surely settled was appropriately with what must be considered the drive of the season from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman’s uncompromising style and aggression has come under enormous scrutiny of late but with his victory from 17th on the grid at the São Paulo Grand Prix he gave a stark reminder that, for all that, he is an exceptional driver and in so doing left his title rival Lando Norris’s hopes shattered.

This was a peerless performance, a masterclass in the rain in Brazil that has deservedly all but clinched Verstappen’s fourth title but a more unlikely win was hard to imagine before the lights went out.

Related: Verstappen wins São Paulo GP from 17th on F1 grid as Norris struggles – live reaction

What had begun with such optimism that Norris could bring about a pivotal shift in the championship battle was reduced to nought after Verstappen’s remarkable victory, a swing then but one perhaps only the world champion himself might have imagined.

It was achieved in a suitably dramatic and gripping contest as Verstappen came back amid the spray, running water and treacherous glassy surface, and Norris fell from pole to finish in sixth. The Dutchman can divide opinion, yet at his best he is thrilling to watch and at Interlagos he made the heart soar.

Verstappen’s drive was admittedly favoured by a little good fortune, yet still mighty in the conditions in which a host of drivers crashed out and the race was stopped because of the intensity of the rain at one point. Even his superlative demonstration in 2016 in the wet at Interlagos, when he came back from 16th to finish third, was no match for this.

While all around him errors were made, cars pirouetting hither and thither causing repeated safety car interruptions and including one crucial error by Norris on a restart, the world champion exhibited iron, flawless control to scythe through the field and take the lead and his first win since the Spanish GP in June. His sheer joy afterwards demonstrated what it meant when he took the flag in front of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in second and third.

Verstappen also clearly grasped the bigger picture. Three meetings remain, including one sprint race, but he has now extended his lead over Norris from 44 points to 62, with 86 still available. The task facing the British driver was already challenging and now appears to be a bridge too far. If Verstappen is 60 points ahead after the next round in Las Vegas his fourth title will be sealed.

Worse still for Norris, his finishing position remained hanging in the balance until almost five hours after the flag. With the race opening in damp conditions Lance Stroll spun out on the formation lap and the start was aborted. Norris, however, then set off to complete another formation lap, was followed by the rest of the field and was investigated after the race for a start procedure infringement having not stayed in his slot as the rules require. The stewards finally concluded he had breached the rules and was given a fine and reprimand but no sporting penalty.

The day, rather like the season, was testing and emotional for Verstappen. He had been unlucky in qualifying, which had taken place on Sunday morning after being postponed on Saturday because of a heavy storm, caught out with the timing of a red flag. It left him in 12th place but starting from 17th with a five-place grid penalty after taking a new engine, while Norris claimed pole. Damage limitation had looked to be his best hope.

From the off, however, he showed no indication the game was up and he hit it with all the shock and awe of November fireworks. A lightning start moved him up to 11th after only one lap and a swathe of precision overtakes followed. By lap 11 he was up to sixth and still within 10 seconds of the leader, George Russell, who had jumped Norris at the start. He was on a charge but some fortune favoured the Dutchman too. As heavy rain returned, McLaren and Mercedes sent Norris and Russell into the pits under a virtual safety car while Verstappen stayed out. It proved inspired.

The race was stopped shortly afterwards when the rain became untenable and Franco Colapinto crashed out. It was a huge moment for Verstappen, who could now take new tyres without going into the pits. The luck he would have felt he deserved after qualifying. He emerged in second behind the Alpine of Esteban Ocon with Norris now fourth.

When racing resumed with Ocon leading, another safety car period was triggered and the restart on lap 43 was crucial. Verstappen, the bit firmly between his teeth and with magisterial and clinical finality, pounced on Ocon to take the lead through turn one, while in what could not have been a starker contrast, Norris slid off wide, the dampest of squibs, and dropped to seventh. Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri was ordered to move over to allow him to take sixth but his hopes had gone.

Verstappen then was in a different class in clean air, opening a huge gap and by the time he took the flag for an immense, breathtaking victory his lead was 20sec over Ocon and 30sec on Norris, the title now surely all but done. If he wraps it up on the Vegas strip, Brazil will surely be the moment that sticks with him from his hardest-fought title since 2021.

Both Mercedes cars of Russell, who was fourth, and Lewis Hamilton, who was tenth, were investigated for changing their tyre pressures while the wheels were on the car on the second grid and were subsequently fined but not penalised. Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson seventh and ninth for RB and Piastri in eighth.