Max Verstappen said he could "forget about" winning the world championship after a chastening Saturday at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver qualified 16th for Sunday's main race after finishing fourth in the sprint earlier on Saturday while McLaren's Lando Norris won.
The sprint result extended Norris' lead over Verstappen to 39 points with four races to go.
Verstappen is likely to lose a further significant amount of points to Norris unless the Briton, who qualified on pole position, hits trouble in the grand prix on Sunday.