Cloudy. Rain. Air +23…21С, highway +29…25С
The main factor for the Brazilian weekend was rain. On Saturday, qualifying was postponed for several hours and then postponed to Sunday – lasting almost two hours and interrupted five times by red flags.
The weekend started quite quietly, with McLaren confidently dominating. In the only training session, Norris showed the best time, his teammate Piastri won qualifying for the sprint and Norris won the sprint again. Then it turned sharply cold and it started to rain.
It rained heavily and on Saturday the FIA even allowed the teams to close the pits to avoid flooding. The decision to postpone qualifying was taken at dusk and ultimately took place at 7:30 am on Sunday on a wet track. Lando Norris won pole position.
The timing of the race also changed: it started an hour and a half earlier than planned, when the forecast for rain was less likely, and there was a time reserve in case of unforeseen breaks.
The starting field turned out to be interesting. Norris and Russell started the race from the front row, Tsunoda and Okon from the second row, Lawson and Leclerc from the third row. Verstappen only qualified twelfth, lost five places due to an engine change and only started seventeenth.
Due to an accident during qualifying, Sainz started from the pit lane after repairs and a replacement power source and Albon did not participate in the race. Mechanics restored the cars of Alonso, Stroll and Colapinto at the last minute.
Russell overtook Norris on the warm-up lap, but then regained the position. While braking in turn four, Stroll spun, hit a commercial break and got stuck in the gravel trying to get out.
While Stroll’s car was being towed away, the start was postponed. Several cars remained on the grid, others went for another warm-up lap even though there was no signal, including Norris, Russell, Tsunoda and Lawson. The stewards reviewed the incident after the finish and two riders, who were followed by the rest, were punished.
The result was that everyone was back in the pit lane. The start was delayed ten minutes, after which the riders started a warm-up lap without Stroll.
At the start, Russell passed Norris to lead the race. Verstappen gained six positions, Gasly and Colapinto each gained four positions.
Exiting Turn 10, Perez spun, was able to continue and fell back to last place.
On lap 2, Verstappen overtook Hamilton for 10th place.
Top ten in round 3: Russell – Norris – Tsunoda – Ocon – Leclerc – Lawson – Piastri – Alonso – Gasly – Verstappen.
On lap 4, Berman went off track after making contact with Colapinto, losing several places and receiving a 10-second time penalty.
On lap 5, Verstappen overtook Gasly for ninth place.
On lap 8, Verstappen overtook Alonso for eighth place.
On lap 10, Verstappen overtook Piastri for seventh place.
Top ten in round 10: Russell – Norris – Tsunoda – Ocon – Leclerc – Lawson – Verstappen – Piastri – Alonso – Gasly.
On lap 11, Lawson passed Verstappen into sixth place.
On lap 12, Hamilton spun into the safety zone but returned to the track and lost his position to Colapinto.
On lap 19, Sainz and Berman took the lead from Hamilton.
On lap 22, Verstappen attacked Leclerc twice, but Charles kept his position.
The rain became heavier. The race management announced that the distance was shortened by one more lap. Sainz made a mistake in Turn 4, went wide off the track and rejoined the track in 15th.
On lap 24, Hamilton overtook Colapinto for 13th place.
On the 25th lap Leclerc changed tires, on the 26th – Hulkenberg, on the 27th – Colapinto.
Piastri hit Lawson in the first corner and was given a 10-second penalty.
On the 27th lap, Hulkenberg flew off the track and a virtual safety car was announced. Marshals helped Niko continue driving and he was black flagged for outside assistance on the track.
Piastri, Alonso, Berman, Hamilton, Sainz and Perez changed their tires. Perez got tires for heavy rain.
On the next lap, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda and Lawson pitted just as the mode was cancelled. Tsunoda and Lawson also switched to rain tires.
The rain poured down in full force. The safety car came out.
Colapinto changed tires and crashed his car seriously on lap 32. The session was stopped with red flags. The drivers returned to the pit lane. Franco confirmed he was doing well and was taken to a medical center as a precaution.
Top ten in race pause mode: Ocon – Verstappen – Gasly – Norris – Russell – Tsunoda – Leclerc – Piastri – Alonso – Lawson.
The riders could change tires. The rain has stopped. After 25 minutes they announced a restart behind the safety car.
Before the restart, Berman and Zhou were on the grass, but the start had been given. Ocon retained the lead. Norris, fighting for position, went off the track and returned side by side with Russell, but George remained in front.
On lap 35, Hamilton passed Alonso in the thick spray for ninth place.
On lap 36, Berman spun out in turn six, passed the safety zone and hit the barrier, but kept driving. On lap 38, Berman hit the grass.
On lap 39, Sainz spun away at turn eight and hit the barrier. The safety car came out.
Top ten for safety car: Ocon – Verstappen – Gasly – Russell – Norris – Leclerc – Piastri – Tsunoda – Hamilton – Alonso.
A restart was announced on the 43rd lap. Verstappen took the lead from Ocon and Norris spun off the track to return seventh. Lawson moved up to ninth, Hamilton fell to thirteenth and then regained two positions.
Top ten in lap 45: Verstappen – Ocon – Gasly – Leclerc – Russell – Piastri – Norris – Tsunoda – Lawson – Perez.
Norris was seventh after starting from pole, Verstappen was 1st after starting 17th.
Piastri was asked to let Norris pass, and Oscar immediately relinquished the position. Russell stayed ahead of Leclerc, who made a mistake, in the battle for fourth place.
On the 52nd lap, Piastri went off track, Tsunoda tried to take advantage of this and overtake him, but Oscar stayed ahead.
The track dried up. Perez attacked Lawson twice, Liam fought back twice and Perez was ahead of Hamilton.
On lap 59 Perez attacked Hamilton but was left behind.
Top ten in lap 60: Verstappen – Ocon – Gasly – Russell – Leclerc – Norris – Piastri – Tsunoda – Lawson – Hamilton.
On lap 61, Alonso overtook Zhou for 14th.
Max Verstappen won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, achieving his 62nd victory and eighth of the season. He extended his lead over Lando Norris to 62 points with three rounds remaining in the season, virtually guaranteeing the title. He can win it in Vegas if he beats Norris.
Ocon and Gasly were on the podium – the last time the Enstone team achieved a double podium was in Korea’13. Alpine regained three positions in the Constructors’ Championship, rising to sixth place and greatly complicating the task of its rivals.
The fight continues in Las Vegas in three weeks.
Race results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Pete |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 2:06:54,430 | 140,540 | 1 |
| 2. E. Okon | Alps | +19.477 | 140,182 | 1 |
| 3. P. Gasly | Alps | +22.532 | 140,126 | 1 |
| 4. D. Russell | Mercedes | +23.265 | 140,112 | 2 |
| 5. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | +30.177 | 139,986 | 2 |
| 6. L.Norris | McLaren | +31.372 | 139,964 | 2 |
| 7. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | +42.056 | 139,769 | 2 |
| 8. O. Piastri | McLaren | +44.943 | 139,716 | 2 |
| 9. L. Lawson | RB | +50.452 | 139,615 | 2 |
| 10. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | +50.753 | 139,610 | 2 |
| 11. C. Perez | Red Bull | +51.531 | 139,596 | 2 |
| 12. O. Berman | Hare | +57.085 | 139,495 | 2 |
| 13. V. Bottas | Sauber | +63.588 | 139,377 | 1 |
| 14. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | +78.049 | 139,115 | 2 |
| 15. G.Zhou | Sauber | +79.649 | 139,086 | 4 |
*Oscar Piastri received a 10-second penalty for colliding with Lawson
Best round: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 1:20.472 (67 laps, 192.767 km/h)
Reasons for the meetings
| Pilot | Team | Kroogov | Cause |
| A. Elbon | Williams | – | didn’t start |
| L. Walk | Aston Martin | – | crashed/didn’t start |
| N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 26 | accident/disqualified |
| F. Colapinto | Williams | 30 | accident |
| K. Sainz | Ferrari | 38 | accident |
Championship Position: Individual Competition
Championship position: Constructors’ Championship
| Team | Engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1. McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes | 593 |
| = | 2. Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 557 |
| = | 3. Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 544 |
| = | 4. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 382 |
| = | 5. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | Mercedes | 86 |
 |
6. BWT Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 49 |
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7. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 46 |
|
8. Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | Honda RBPT | 44 |
|
9. Williams Racing | Mercedes | 17 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
