Let’s all take a deep breath. Looking back at the São Paulo Grand Prix, there's much to unpack. Here’s my recap of the chaotic weekend:
THE SPRINT
I’ll get straight to the point - Lando Norris won due to McLaren's strategizing. Oscar Piastri, who started in P1 and kept his position for most of the race, was instructed to swap… Both drivers made no secret that they were dissatisfied with the team order - it was and should have remained Piastri’s win.
Most of the attention, however, was on Max Verstappen, who spent most of the race battling Charles Leclerc for P3. Though Verstappen did win that fight, he made quite the boo-boo during a Virtual Safety Car when he tried to overtake Oscar Piastri in a bid for P2. The Red Bull driver quickly realized his mistake and returned to his position, but the FIA was unwilling to overlook the action. Though Verstappen physically finished in third place, a post-race five-second penalty was imposed, and he was pushed back into fourth place. Leclerc was then promoted to third place.
Little did I know that chaos was seething in the clouds hovering above Interlagos.
QUALIFYING
A heavy downpour delayed the qualifying session, which was supposed to follow several hours after the sprint. There was nothing anyone could do other than wait. Drivers hung around the garages and waved to fans. Here's a snippet of what the rain at Interlagos was looking like:
Meanwhile, the FIA stewards had the honor of repeatedly driving around the track in the unmissable emerald green safety car and deliberating if conditions were safe enough to compete. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t… not even in the slightest. After Qualifying was delayed several times, the enduring rain, the ponds of water on the track, and the limited daylight gave the Race Control no choice but to postpone the session to Sunday at 7:30am (local time) with the race still starting at 12:30pm (also local time).
And boy, was it something. For starters, the rain came back and summoned mayhem with it. For one, there was a total of FIVE RED FLAGS between the three rounds. Let me quickly detangle this bit by bit for you.
Cut from Q1:
16. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
17. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
18. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
19. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
20. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
By the way, Bearman was deputizing for Kevin Magnussen, who had food poisoning and thus couldn’t participate in the weekend. The first red flag of the session came from Franco Colapinto, who spun and crashed into a barrier. Thankfully, he was okay.
The shocking moment of Q1 was Hamilton’s shock exit because, well, it’s Lewis Hamilton. Wet weather tracks are kinda his thing. And if the GOAT himself struggled at Interlagos, then anything was bound to hit the fan… And it sure did.
Q2 saw Carlos Sainz, fresh from his Mexican Grand Prix victory, hit the barriers with only 5 minutes and 52 seconds left in the session. And then along came Lance Stroll, with 46 seconds left, who crashed. The FIA, I regret to say, took a little too long to call the red flag, which prematurely ended Q2… And a lot of drivers got screwed over.
Cut from Q2:
11. Valterri Bottas (Kick Sauber)
12. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
13. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
14. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Verstappen, who was dealt a five-place penalty, was thus going to start in P17… This will matter in a moment.
Q3 saw two more red flags - the first from Fernando Alonso. Alex Albon arguably had the worst crash of all five, so much so that he couldn’t participate in the race that afternoon due to the “excessive damage” the Williams garage could not repair in time.
On the bright side, Lando Norris (McLaren) got pole position. George Russell (Mercedes) in P2 and Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB) in P3 joined him.
Before I jump into the details of the actual race, here’s a lovely interlude - Lewis Hamilton, an honorary citizen of Brazil, driving Brazillian F1 GOAT Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren car:
THE RACE
Ah, geez. Where do I start? How about the formation lap?
Lance Stroll went off-track into the gravel, completely beaching himself and prompting Race Control to call an Aborted Start. This triggered some confusion, particularly for Lando Norris, who attempted to lead another Formation Lap. George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson followed suit. The thing is, all of the remaining drivers should have stayed put on the grid. FIA stewards noted all four, especially Norris, for an infringement. Norris and Russell were later fined and reprimanded for the move. Tsunoda and Lawson were let off the hook as they were deemed influenced by the McLaren and Mercedes driver.
After a proper Formation Lap, the race (reduced from 71 to 69 laps) finally started… And the rain decided to tag along. The drivers were not even halfway through the race when another red flag was waved after Colapinto crashed again. Mind you, the Safety Car was out before the Williams driver’s crash due to the harsh rainy conditions.
While the drivers retreated to the garage to wait out the debris being cleaned from the track, a black flag was waved for Nico Hulkenberg. Translation? He was disqualified from the race. But why? Marshalls assisted the Haas driver after going off-track earlier; for obvious reasons, that’s unfair and not permitted. It was the first time since 2007 that a black flag was whipped out during a race. The honors of the last crash of the day went to Carlos Sainz.
Was there actual racing amidst the chaos? Yes, but let me jump straight to the essential bits:
Lando Norris lost the lead to George Russell, and both lost their 1-2 lead during a pit stop… That red flag from Colapinto’s crash only stifled McLaren’s efforts to aid Norris in recovering his P1 spot. Oh, well!
…So, who won the GP?
Cue the Dutch national anthem.
Max Verstappen, who started P17, swiftly sped to the top and won the Brazillian Grand Prix. He finished 17 seconds ahead of Esteban Ocon, who finished second. Fellow Alpine driver Pierre Gasly finished in third place. The Dutch driver’s performance was a masterclass in hard, determined, furious racing. It was hard not to root for him - it was a well-deserved win.
One triple header ends and another begins soon. Three more rounds of the season remain, and Verstappen is poised to seize the Drivers’ Championship title for a fourth time. The Constructors’ Championship, on the other hand, will be a slightly more competitive and entertaining race to follow. Let’s see if McLaren can keep up their lead.
Formula One coverage will resume during the Las Vegas Grand Prix from November 21st to 23rd on Vintage & Coupe.
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