Alpine teammates Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly also capitalised on the chaotic rain-affected race to take a double podium for the embattled Alpine team in a remarkable 126-minute marathon afternoon.
Thunderstorms were the background to Verstappen’s improbable victory, his first in 10 grands prix. Though Saturday’s sprint race, won by Norris, had taken place in warm and dry conditions, storms set in shortly after, forcing qualifying for the main race to be postponed to early yesterday morning.
By then the thunder and lightning had abated, but the rain had stuck around overnight. In a session that featured five red flags for crashes, Verstappen found himself caught out in 12th, which turned into 17th after serving a grid penalty for taking a new internal combustion engine.
Norris, dominating the pole-getting session, looked set to achieve a significant points swing in his favour to boost his slim title hopes.
But things went wrong almost immediately for the Briton, who lost the lead off the line to second-place starter George Russell.
Russell’s Mercedes was slower around the lap but quicker in a straight line, leaving the McLaren trapped in second position and unable to pass in the slippery conditions.
It was all good news for Verstappen. Lining up 15th - Thai driver Alex Albon failed to take the start after a heavy qualifying crash, and Lance Stroll spun into the gravel on the formation lap - he was up to 11th by the end of the first lap and running sixth by lap 11 of 69, a damage-limiting podium just about within reach.
The race then began turning further in his favour on lap 24, when the rain intensified.
Norris had already been haranguing his team to bring him in for fresh tyres to undercut Russell, but the pit wall pushed back, seeing no appropriate gap in the field to drop him into after the tyre change.
Nico Hülkenberg forced the issue on lap 27, when he spun off the road at the first turn and triggered a virtual safety car.
Russell and Norris headed to the pits - the former reluctantly, believing a red flag was likely in the worsening weather - only for the VSC to end as they entered the lane.
They dropped to fourth and fifth behind non-stoppers Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly.
On lap 30 Russell’s fears were realised, and a heavy crash for Franco Colapinto suspended the race.
The three leaders were able to change their tyres for free while parked in pit lane, moving them ahead of Russell and Norris outright.
The race was abortively resumed on lap 34, with a crash for Carlos Sainz forcing a safety car that reset the pack. Underway again on lap 43, Verstappen wasted no time pouncing on Ocon, making a sublime late-braking move down the inside of the first corner to complete his herculean recovery drive.
From there he was never headed, setting 17 fastest laps on his way to a drought-breaking eighth victory of the season.
“I don’t even know where to start, because my emotions today have been from almost trying to destroy the garage [after qualifying] to winning the race,” he said.
“We just stayed calm. It was still a very long race, naturally. We made the right calls.
“I was just very motivated to get a good race and just let the race pan out and see what happens, because in a wet race always some crazy things can happen.”
The win blew out his title lead over Norris to 62 points. He will seal the championship if he retains a 60-point lead after the next race in Las Vegas on 23 November.
“It was incredibly important, because I was expecting to lose points today,” he said. “From now, I just want clean races to the end. I’m not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever; I just want clean races.”
Alpine teammates Ocon and Gasly took a lucrative double podium for the French team, its best result by points since 2021, to vault the Enstone squad from ninth to sixth in the constructors championship, a position that could net millions in prize money if held for three more races.
Ocon set up his race by qualifying an excellent fourth, while Gasly followed Verstappen’s lead through the field, with both then capitalising on the red flag.
“I’m not sure that is a reality or still a dream, but I smell champagne, so I think it is reality,” Ocon said. “It’s been an incredible day.
“It feels extremely great and even greater now because we’ve had a difficult couple of races lately, where things don’t really work the way we want for us, but it clearly shows that we’ve still got it when it’s not all about the car and it’s also about driving.”
Gasly praised the team for making the right calls on a difficult day to secure what could be a season-changing result.
“I’m just so proud of the team,” he said. “To overcome such a tough season - it would have been too easy to give up, but we never gave up, and here we are, both cars, P2 and P3, a lot of points for the team. Everybody should be very proud today.”
Russell finished fourth ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris slumping to sixth after running off the road at the safety car restart as Verstappen took the lead, a full stop to a painful day for the all-but-vanquished title contender.
Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to seventh after Oscar Piastri dropped a position with a 10-second penalty for crashing into Liam Lawson, who finished ninth, early in the race, while Lewis Hamilton scored the final point for 10th after a long battle with Sergio Pérez, who was first among the scoreless on the frenetic afternoon in Brazil.