Verstappen shatters the morale at Interlagos

The 2024 Brazilian GP weekend was certainly one we won’t be forgetting any time soon - defending champion Max Verstappen extended his lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris in a spectacular display of skill and perfect strategy from the Red Bull pitwall. Just a few races ago, we were expecting for the championship to come down to the wire, or at least close to it, but the world of Formula One can now be assured that we won’t be seeing Verstappen fighting tooth and nail for his fourth title - he’ll be winning it by a comfortable margin.

Main title contender Lando Norris came out to the press post-race claiming that Verstappen’s dominant victory on the Sunday wasn’t down to talent, “just luck”, and a lot of fans and pundits have denounced the young Brit for saying this. Doubts have been raised as to whether Norris has the maturity and mindset to win, or even fight for, a championship, even if he’s had the fastest car on the majority of weekends.

Let’s get stuck into the best bits of an action-packed Brazilian grand Prix weekend then, shall we?

Sprint Qualifying and Race

Oscar Piastri clinched Sprint pole, narrowly beating out his teammate by just 0.029 seconds. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured third place, with Verstappen just behind in fourth despite a five-place grid penalty for a new engine. Carlos Sainz was fifth, and George Russell lined up just behind sixth. Brazilian citizen Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez were notable names who didn't make it past the first segment of Sprint Qualifying.

Lando Norris took Sprint victory as result of a somewhat disappointing driver swap, with the Aussie handing the lead over on the penultimate lap. Piastri took what must’ve been a deflating second, ensuring McLaren a 1-2 finish, with Leclerc completing the podium in third. Eventual race winner Verstappen had a challenging race but managed to finish fourth, scoring a handy 5 points. The race saw some good scuffling and wheel-to-wheel action, with George Russell and Carlos Sainz involved in a late-race duel for fifth place, where the Spaniard came out on top.

Main Race Qualifying

For the first time since the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, we saw Qualifying take place on Sunday morning - the FIA declared the heavy rain to not be suitable conditions for the session to take place, so we went into race day with two events ahead of us. Dedicated fans piled into the track and grandstands in the early hours of the morning and we eventually got underway at 7:30AM local time, pushing the main race back to 12:30PM.

The first qualifying session was far from the norm due to changing weather conditions and multiple red flags; 2025 Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was notably eliminated in this session, only placing 16th. Haas had a tough session with Nico Hulkenberg and the deputising Oliver Bearman failing to make the cut. Kevin Magnussen was forced to sit out the weekend due to illness. Fan favourite Franco Colapinto also found himself in the barriers at Turn 3, ending his session early and triggering the first red flag of many.

Out for Q2 were:

16th - Lewis HAMILTON

17th - Oliver BEARMAN

18th - Franco COLAPINTO

19th - Nico HULKENBERG

20th - ZHOU Guanyu

The second session saw two stoppages, one following a crash by Carlos Sainz and another in the dying moments after Lance Stroll hit the barriers. This resulted in both Red Bulls being unable to improve their times, leaving Max Verstappen down in P12, which then became 17th due to his grid penalty. Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas were knocked out in 11th and 15th respectively.

Eliminated for Q3 were:

11th - Valtteri BOTTAS

12th - Max VERSTAPPEN

13th - Sergio PEREZ

14th - Carlos SAINZ

15th - Pierre GASLY

The final session was just as eventful, with two heavy crashes for Fernando Alonso and Alexander Albon disrupting the running. With just over three minutes left on the clock, Lando Norris surged through to claim pole position with a lap time of 1:23.405 - George Russell finished second, just under two tenths behind, and Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed his best-ever qualifying result to take P3. Now that’s one happy man!

Hamilton pays touching tribute to Sao Paulo’s very own

Lewis Hamilton had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive the legendary Ayrton Senna's 1990 McLaren MP4/5B at Interlagos, calling it "the greatest honour of [his] career." The seven-time champ, who was made an honorary Brazilian citizen in 2022, completed several laps in the iconic car between Qualifying and the race start describing the experience as "very emotional," revisiting his childhood memories of watching Senna race.

Hamilton even pulled over to take a Brazilian flag from a marshal, echoing Senna's famous act of the very same thing after his victory in 1991. The event was a special tribute to Senna, with Hamilton expressing deep gratitude to everyone involved as well as the fans.

An angry Max is a fast Max

After a frustrating Qualifying session and having to start the grand prix from P17, Max Verstappen wasn’t exactly a happy chappy, venting his frustrations to the media over the fact that the yellow flag for a stranded Lance Stroll only came out after both McLaren cars had crossed the line to complete their final laps.

“I find it unbelievable ... The car [Stroll] goes into the wall, broken, it’s clearly destroyed but they wait 30-40 seconds so everyone else can just complete their lap times ... I can’t get my head around it – how is it possible to just let it go for 30 seconds, 40 seconds? That, of course, ruins qualifying.”

— Max Verstappen

Despite this, Verstappen put his head down and made an impressive start, gaining six positions in just over a lap. He executed a daring overtake on Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1, also managing to go around the outside of two cars at Turn 3, mimicking his own move on Nico Rosberg in 2016. Despite the chaotic conditions and multiple safety car periods, Verstappen steadily worked his way up the order. His ability to read the changing track conditions and make the right calls with his team was crucial.

A pivotal moment came when the Milton Keynes team decided to keep Verstappen out on intermediate tyres during a Virtual Safety Car period, allowing him to jump ahead of several cars. This strategic decision paid off handsomely as he gained valuable positions. After a red flag and another safety car period due to Carlos Sainz's crash, the Dutchman took the lead and maintained it until the end. His inhuman ability in the wet and consistent pace, setting seventeen fastest laps during the race, ensured he stayed ahead of the unusually-placed Alpine cars in second and third.

Look at the spray coming off that machine!

Max described his first win in 10 races as "emotional" and "unbelievable" - this victory not only ended a 10-race winless streak but also extended his championship lead over Lando Norris. Verstappen's performance was a masterclass in wet-weather driving and strategic racing, furthering his journey to becoming one of the best drivers Formula One has ever seen.

More importantly, this dominant reminder of who’s really on top has potentially caused title contender Norris’ confidence to crumble, but we won’t know for sure until we’re able to look back at the final three races of the season, come December.

A dream weekend for Team France

The Alpine team had a standout performance at Interlagos, achieving an impressive double podium finish with Esteban Ocon taking second place and Pierre Gasly finishing third. This result marked one of Alpine's best performances in recent years and was a significant confidence (and most likely financial!) boost for the team.

Esteban Ocon started the race from fourth position and showcased strong pace throughout the rain-sodden race. He managed to lead the race for several laps, eventually being overtaken by the eventual race winner, Max Verstappen, but the man from Normandy maintained his composure and secured second place, earning valuable points for the team.

Pierre Gasly's race was equally remarkable; Starting from all the way back in P15, he executed a brilliant recovery drive. Race strategy was impeccable, allowing him to navigate through the field and capitalise on the various safety car periods and the red flag incident, similarly to Verstappen. Gasly stayed out during the Virtual Safety Car period, which helped him gain significant track position, then defending his third-place position fiercely against George Russell until the very end, showcasing that grit that midfield drivers have to have.

The double podium finish not only provided a morale boost for the team but also significantly improved their standing in the constructors' championship, propelling them to sixth place. Crucially, this could mean a financial reward of up to an eye-watering $45m, according to estimates, but the FIA won’t disclose the exact amount, likely until years later.

McLaren contemplates Sao paulo struggles

McLaren had a mixed weekend in Sao Paulo - Lando Norris started strong by securing pole position in the chaotic qualifying session, however, during the race, he faced challenges, traffic and a few too many mistakes and ultimately finished in sixth place. Teammate Piastri started from eighth place and had a tough race, making no net gain at the chequered flag after receiving a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with RB’s Liam Lawson.

Despite the setbacks, McLaren's performance showed promise with Norris' initial pole position, but the team still acknowledged the difficulties they faced due to the variable weather conditions and the timing of the red flag, which impacted their race strategy heavily. Team Principal Andrea Stella emphasised the need to review their performance and prepare for the upcoming races.

If they want to keep their dream of a driver’s title alive, they’ll need nothing short of a miracle now!

More Woes for Williams

Williams experienced one of their weakest weekends in Sao Paulo, enduring three major crashes in a single day. Both Albon and newcomer Colapinto crashed during qualifying, with Albon's car sustaining severe damage and preventing him from starting the race altogether. Colapinto also crashed during the race, on lap 32, bringing out the red flag. Team Principal James Vowles described the weekend as incredibly challenging, with a significant amount of work needed to recover before the next race in Las Vegas.

James Vowles on Williams’ double retirement

The nature of Formula 1 is that you can have some of the most incredible feelings and results, as well as some of the lowest moments that you can feel within a sport. **I think it’s fair to say this weekend is the second of those two.**

The crashes not only impacted the team's morale but also posed logistical challenges as the mechanics and engineers faced the daunting task of repairing the cars under tight time constraints. Albon's crash during qualifying was particularly severe, damaging the car's suspension and chassis. Colapinto's crash added to the team's stresses, as it disrupted their race strategy and further strained their resources. Despite these setbacks, the team remains determined to regroup and push forward in the remaining races of the season.

Elsewhere on the grid…

Williams weren’t the only outfit that had a nightmare weekend - Aston Martin saw their fair share of grand prix misery too after both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso crashed in qualifying, with the mechanics working tirelessly to get the cars race-ready within a few hours.

Stroll found himself unable to start the race after losing control under braking at Turn 4, Descido do Lago, spinning off the road and onto the runoff area on the formation lap, resulting in the car being stuck in the gravel after a frankly puzzling attempt to return to the track. Alonso managed to stay in the points for most of the race but struggled with brake issues after the restart and eventually spun out of the top 10. He also experienced significant discomfort due to the car's excessive bouncing (or ‘porpoising’ as we knew it in 2022), finishing the race in a lowly P14.

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg received a disqualifying black flag, F1’s first in seventeen years, since the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, for receiving external assistance from track marshalls after spinning out at Turn 1, having just fitted a new set of intermediate tyres. This means we saw a final result that included all three applicable race classifications: DNF (Sainz and Colapinto), DNS (Albon and Stroll) and DSQ. We don’t know the last time this happened during a race, so no fancy statistics for that tidbit!

So then, after probably the most eventful Grand Prix weekend we’ve had in a while, we’re off to Las Vegas in a few weeks - will we have a decently entertaining race like last year’s event or will we get nothing but flying manhole covers, crashes and severely unhappy fans being booted out of the venue? As with everything in this glorious sport we hold so dear, only time will tell!

As always, whatever happens, we’ll be sure to bring you all the very best bits here on Race Reaction - watch this space!

Final Race Classification

1 - Max VERSTAPPEN

2 - Esteban OCON

3 - Pierre GASLY

4 - George RUSSELL

5 - Charles LECLERC

6 - Lando NORRIS

7 - Yuki TSUNODA

8 - Oscar PIASTRI

9 - Liam LAWSON

10 - Lewis HAMILTON

11 - Sergio PEREZ

12 - Oliver BEARMAN

13 - Valtteri BOTTAS

14 - Fernando ALONSO

15 - ZHOU Guanyu

DNF - Carlos SAINZ

DNF - Franco COLAPINTO

DNS - Alexander ALBON

DNS - Lance STROLL

DSQ - Nico HULKENBERG