McLaren priority is first F1 constructors' title since 1998

"The F1 constructors' championship was always our priority, so this doesn't change anything," said team boss Andrea Stella after Norris started on pole and finished sixth while Max Verstappen won from 17th on the grid.

The Red Bull driver is now 62 points clear of the Briton, his closest rival, with three rounds and 86 points still to fight for. That means Verstappen could clinch a fourth successive title in Las Vegas later this month.

McLaren increased their lead over Ferrari to 36 points, in the Constructors' championship standings, with three GPs and a Sprint Race to go.

Verstappen's race was acclaimed as one of the great drives in the sport's history, even by those who had criticised his style previously, although Norris suggested there was an element of luck involved.

Norris, who started his McLaren from pole position but dropped down to P6 after a tense and chaotic Grand Prix in Brazil, acknowledged Verstappen's victory on Sky F1: "He drove well, he got a bit lucky."

Verstappen did not feel that way after the second phase of qualifying when he was caught out by a red flag that left him 12th with an additional five-place drop for an engine change.

Verstappen had been fastest in the first phase of qualifying, while Norris just squeaked through in 15th position with his final effort, and admitted later he had felt like tearing up the garage.

In the race, the Dutch driver was also helped by a red flag that gave him a free tyre change after Norris had pitted. But that came after he had overtaken six cars on the first lap and got himself into a position to take full advantage.

Norris meanwhile made a couple of mistakes, running off track and losing positions. The wet conditions also meant there was no advantage from drag reduction.

Stella blamed the McLaren car rather than the driver, pointing to brake problems: "When we lock the tyres with a car like we have today, I am not looking at the driver. I am looking at why the car keeps locking the front tyres in conditions like this.

"I don't think pressure was a significant factor at all. We have struggled with the lock-ups all weekend in wet conditions with both drivers and I think from a car point of view this is also something that we need to look into," explained Stella.

Only five of the 1,121 previous F1 world championship Grand Prix had been won from 17th or lower and Verstappen's victory, his eighth of the season, ended a 10-race run without success for the Dutch driver. He also beat Michael Schumacher's record of 896 consecutive days leading the F1 WDC. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin)