Max Verstappen rose from 17th on the grid to take a
potentially pivotal victory in a wet-weather thriller of a Brazilian Grand Prix
on Sunday, extending his World Championship lead to 62 points with three rounds
remaining.
Lando Norris finished sixth after starting from pole
position, an ill-timed red flag after a pit stop seeing him drop behind
Verstappen in a race which upset the form book at Interlagos, with Alpine duo
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly taking a stunning double podium for Alpine –
trebling the team’s points tally for the season in the process.
Max Verstappen wins chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix at
Interlagos
After the dramatic Sunday morning qualifying session in
wet conditions saw Max Verstappen line
up 17th after his five-place grid penalty, Norris had a fantastic opportunity
from pole position to make inroads into his World Championship lead, dependent
on the Red Bull driver’s recovery.
A mixed-up grid behind him saw Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon
and Liam Lawson all among the top five, with George Russell on the front row
alongside the McLaren driver – and Alex Albon unable to start after the damage
to his Williams in qualifying was too much to fix in time for the race.
But as the lights went out for the formation lap,
however, Lance Stroll – just as both Aston Martin drivers saw their cars
repaired before the race, saw his brakes lock up heading towards Descida do
Lago and beaching his car in the gravel, ending his race before it started –
which saw the start aborted and another lap take place to keep the cars cool.
Mechanics were allowed back onto the grid after the
aborted start, but Norris, Russell, Tsunoda and Lawson were placed under
investigation for a starting procedure breach – moving off the line when the
start was aborted and yellow lights were shown, not green.
On track, however, a second formation lap followed and the
Brazilian Grand Prix would finally be able to get underway, with raindrops in
the air at Interlagos.
Russell got the better launch of the two Brits and led into
the Senna S for the first time, with Tsunoda holding off Ocon in third – and
Lewis Hamilton with Verstappen in tow making significant inroads.
Verstappen dived down the inside of Hamilton into the Senna
S after the first lap was complete to move into the points – up seven places in
one lap after a clever move around the outside of Curva do Sol at the start –
while Hamilton had already made up three places of his own, while Sergio Perez
spun in the second sector to drop himself to the back of the field.
The World Championship leader set about his rise through the
field, with Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso quickly dispatched as Verstappen
rose up to eighth, though Oscar Piastri would be next up on the road by lap 7.
But three laps later, the Red Bull driver made another late
move into the Senna S that paid dividends for him, diving to the inside as
Piastri kept the outside line as Verstappen kept up his pace as comfortably the
fastest driver on track in the early stages.
Hamilton’s struggles in his Mercedes continued, reporting
bouncing in his W15 before going off at the final left-hander of Juncao. He was
able to rejoin, but Franco Colapinto in his hastily-rebuilt Williams swept past
to the cheers of the huge contingent in attendance at Interlagos in support of
him.
But at the end of lap 24 and rain coming down further,
Leclerc was the first driver to gamble on a pit stop – pitting for fresh
intermediates as the showers intensified at Interlagos, getting back out on
track in 12th place.
A spin for Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 1 by lap 28 saw a Virtual
Safety Car deployed, prompting a flurry of other pit stops – with Perez opting
for the full wet tyres, as news emerged that both Mercedes
cars were under investigation for adjusting tyre pressures on the grid
ahead of the second formation lap.
Russell and Norris both pitted as the VSC period ended and
Hulkenberg re-emerged on track, and Norris made a move on Russell into Descida
do Lago by lap 30 to take what would have been a net race lead – but with Ocon
in the lead, Verstappen second and Pierre Gasly third, none of which having
pitted, the full Safety Car was deployed due to the worsening conditions.
It would not be long before a red flag, though, after a huge crash for Colapinto on the rise out of the final corner, getting wheelspin as he climbed up the hill and colliding side-on with the barrier, climbing out of his Williams unscathed.
.webp)
