Why Red Bull did not reverse Verstappen and Hadjar's positions in Brazil

Hadjar was running in second place when he was asked on lap 38 to let Verstappen through as the Dutchman charged up from 21st on the grid after a power unit penalty. Over the radio, Hadjar also asked whether the positions would be swapped back if Verstappen could not catch race leader Lando Norris.

Mekies left little doubt that the team had been willing to reverse the order. He said Hadjar's pace after the swap justified it, but rain and the gap between the cars made it pointless late in the race.

Mekies also praised both drivers: "But I have to say, Max and Isack worked very, very strongly together to give us the result."

As things stand, Verstappen is second in the drivers' standings on 279 points. Russell is third on 262, one point ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Finishing third instead of second would have cost Verstappen three points, so his 17-point lead over Russell would have been 14 heading into the last three rounds.

Verstappen has been gaining ground quickly, as Russell scored only 26 points to the Red Bull driver's 116 over the last five Grands Prix. That run included a power unit failure in Malaysia and Russell's spin at pit exit in Sao Paulo.

Asked about whether Mercedes would help Russell finish second in the standings, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: "I haven't thought about the Drivers' Championship yet, but clearly, we absolutely want him to score the maximum and hopefully finish second. We need to think about what we're going to do about it."

Meanwhile, finishing second doesn't matter to Verstappen. The Dutchman previously said: "I don't really care, because it's only about first. So for me, I don't care if I'm second or fifth. The only thing that we want to try and achieve is to be P3 in the Constructors'. That's what I think the team wants, so that's what we'll try to do."