SAO PAULO GP – Max Verstappen on brink of fourth title following a dramatic, accident-filled race with a drive from seventeenth to victory
Max Verstappen has won a chaotic, accident-filled filled and action-packed Sao Paulo Grand Prix finishing nineteen seconds ahead of the two Alpine’s. The Dutchman bounced back after starting seventeenth and steadily coming through the field to take his first win since Barcelona back in June in a race which ran for just under the three-hour time limit thanks to safety cars, red flags and accidents throughout the race.
Verstappen’s first victory since June was a master class has he took advantage of the conditions making up places early on to get up to third before the safety car and red flag as a band of heavy rain moved in and the Williams of Franco Colapinto crashed around half distance. The Red Bull driver ended ten races without a win and turned the championship on its head extending his lead to sixty-two points with three Grands Prix and a sprint remaining.
He managed to pull away during the final quarter of the race building a nineteen-second lead despite the rain getting heavier during the closing stages. He kept his cool in what will be one of the great wet weather and chaotic races of all time, thanks to him and Red Bull making the right strategic decision at the right time.
Verstappen can seal the title in Las Vegas in three weeks’ time simply by finishing the race ahead of Norris, who now needs to take more than twenty points per remaining round out of the Dutchman to overhaul him. While key in the drivers, the constructor’s championship has been placed in more jeopardy with the gap to McLaren down to forty-nine points.
Sunday even before the race had been dramatic in the title race, Lando Norris took pole despite nearly being knocked out in Q1 before eight AM, while Verstappen qualified twelfth dropping to eighteenth after taking an extra power unit at the start of the weekend
His championship rivals Norris and McLaren facing big questions after failing to convert pole into victory as several drivers are under investigation for various incidents throughout the race. Norris only managed sixth in the race following an error-filled afternoon after getting everything right during qualifying in the early hours of the morning.
Gasly said “It’s incredible for the whole team, we’ve had such a tough season and we’ve struggled to score points. In these conditions everything was possible and no one believed it until the end, two cars on the podium, I don’t think anyone would have got that on their bingo card, it’s just fantastic”
Norris is under investigation over the aborted first start after Lance Stroll beached his Aston Martin at Descida do Lago, when in reaction to an “Aborted Start” message, while Verstappen was among a separate group that waited for green lights before going around again. In contrast, Verstappen gained six places on the first lap, and then passed old rival Hamilton at the start of the second lap to move into the top ten.
Norris and McLaren appeared to confuse an aborted start – which sees cars wait on the grid and mechanics return – for an instruction to carry out another formation lap, and pulled away. Russell, Tsunoda and Lawson are also under investigation for the same infringement. Russell, along with team-mate Lewis Hamilton, faces a further investigation for Mercedes changing the tyre pressures on their cars after the aborted start. The infringement could result in disqualification.
Norris told Sky Sports, “It was just unlucky. I don’t care about the hindsight side of things, that’s luck for them, nothing more. They got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it but every driver has disagreed with it in the past. Today it benefitted then, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that’s a stupid thing to think of. Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing.”
Like qualifying the race was full of accidents, a red flag, a few virtual safety cars and two safety cars in whats likely to be remembered not only as a decisive moments in deciding the championship, but one of the best wet weather races of all time.
Esteban Ocon was second ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly by three seconds a huge boost for the French manufacturer following a turbulent season when their future has been questioned. For Gasly his second podium at Interlagos in an equally bonkers Sunday in Brazil. He finished seven-tenths ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell.
Charles Leclerc brought his Ferrari home fifth as he finished just over a second ahead of Norris, after he stopped too early before the conditions changed. Nico Hulkenberg spun off on lap twenty-seven giving a sign of what was coming naturally the others pitted before it darkened overhead leading to a safety car and three laps later the heavens opened with the race stopped for nearly half an hour.
Under the safety car and Red Flag, more drama followed Franco Colapinto crashing his Williams and Hulkenberg being disqualified for getting outside assistance to rejoin the race after his spin. Yuki Tsunoda brought his RB home in seventh finishing nearly three seconds ahead of Piastri, after a time penalty, and his RB teammate Liam Lawson in ninth ahead of Hamilton by three-tenths as they completed the top ten.
Sergio Perez was eleventh after Hamilton fended off the second Red Bull during the closing stages. Ollie Bearman brought his Haas home twelfth in his first wet race, but his third career start wasn’t without its dramas despite going off several times he finished the race but picked up a time penalty for his collision with Colapinto during the opening laps.
Valtteri Bottas was thirteenth comfortably ahead of Fernando Alonso and his teammate Guanyu Zhou completed the field who crossed the line. Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll failed to start after a spin on the formation lap, as did Colapinto’s teammate Alex Albon following his crash in qualifying earlier in the day. Carlos Sainz started from the pit lane following the rebuild of his car, crashing on lap thirty-nine into Laranjinha shortly before the restart.
Related
- Sao Paulo GP – Qualifying Result
- · SAO PAULO GP – Lando Norris takes pole in a wild and wet qualifying as Max Verstappen knocked out in Q2
- SAO PAULO GP – Grand Prix qualifying postponed until Sunday morning
- · Sao Paulo GP – Sprint Result
- · SAO PAULO GP – Lando Norris wins the sprint race six tenths ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri following team orders
- · Sao Paulo GP – Sprint Qualifying
- · SAO PAULO GP – Oscar Piastri beats Lando Norris to sprint pole by three hundredths with Max Verstappen fourth
- · SAO PAULO GP – Lando Norris fastest by nearly two-tenths ahead of George Russell in practice
- · Welcome to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
- · PRIXVIEW – Sao Paulo Grand Prix