Max Verstappen had a dominant run after red flag re-start to win F1 Brazil GP from Lando Norris as Fernando Alonso keeps P3 on the line.
It was already a damaging run on the formation lap itself in F1 Brazil GP where Charles Leclerc crashed out due to hydraulics issues on the formation lap. The Monegasque had a new soft tyre against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s used but to no avail.
There was no need of an extra formation lap as things got going but not for long. There was immediate safety car after an incident involving the Haas pair and Williams’ Alexander Albon. It also caught out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo.
At the front, Verstappen took a clean start to lead F1 Brazil GP as McLaren’s Lando Norris got up from sixth to second with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton going from fifth to third dropping the Aston Martin cars to fourth and fifth respectively.
Fernando Alonso got ahead of Lance Stroll, as Mercedes’ George Russell was sixth from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in the Top 10 where the Japanese driver gained a lot.
The race was red-flagged to clean the debris and repair the barrier. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen turned right on Nico Hulkenberg in between as the German touched with Albon on the outside. The Thai racer then collected Magnussen in the process.
The Dane touched the back of Piastri to damage his rear, while the tyre body flew off and hit Hulkenberg before hitting Ricciardo as well.The two were deemed retired, but the team frantically started to fix the issue under red flag situation.
Post red flag –
Both Piastri and Ricciardo managed to re-join the grand prix but had to start from the pitlane and were classified one lap down to the leaders. The re-start worked well for Verstappen as he led F1 Brazil GP from Norris despite Hamilton close to him.
A lock-up probably hurt Hamilton as Alonso passed him for third at Turn 4. Russell was sixth from Perez as they got through Stroll at the start. Sainz held eighth with Gasly getting up to ninth from teammate Ocon who fended off Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver’s moment on the kerb dropped him behind Ocon and almost being caught by Hulkenberg. At the front, Norris started to hurry Verstappen and even tried a move at Turn 4 before giving up and keeping a gap to the Dutchman.
Alonso was a distant third from Hamilton, as Perez got through Russell after the Brit lost DRS from his teammate. Stroll was on the tail of the Mercedes driver but had Sainz and Gasly close behind, with Ocon dropping behind Tsunoda for 10th.
The Japanese driver though had a weird grass moment which allowed Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas to get by him. With the degradation high, it was the Mercedes pair to pit early. Hamilton pitted straight after losing to Perez, with Russell following a lap later.
A pit stop from Perez dropped him behind Hamilton where he had to fight through the Brit again to retake track position. After the stops at the front, it was Verstappen leading F1 Brazil GP from Norris and Alonso, with the Mexican trying to catch the Spanaird.
Stroll was up to fifth from Hamilton who dropped off in the clutches of his teammate Russell. They were being caught by Sainz with Ocon in ninth after stopping early, while Bottas rounded out the Top 10 from Gasly.
But both gained a place after Ocon’s pit. In fact, Gasly passed Bottas for ninth soon as the Finn lost the final point after Tsunoda came back through the field to be back in 10th. There was a retirement for Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu due to a problem.
At the front, Verstappen continued to lead from Norris, with Alonso being caught by Perez for third. Stroll was fourth at a distant as Sainz passed both Hamilton and Russell to be sixth, while Gasly ran ninth from Tsunoda in the Top 10.
Both Gasly and Tsunoda were catching the Mercedes pair where the Frenchman eventually caught up with Russell and passed him for eighth. There was a retirement for Bottas too which made it both the Alfa Romeo cars to retire.
The pit stop game started for the lower half of the field but Alonso remained ahead of Perez, who had to catch the Spaniard for the podium position. The Mexican got on the DRS of the Spaniard as he chased him for the final place on the podium.
Meanwhile, Stroll held onto fifth from Sainz with Gasly up to seventh from Hamilton, Tsunoda and Ocon in the Top 10, where the Alpine driver was helped by a retirement for Russell. The Brit’s power unit oil temperature risked an imminent failure.
It was Verstappen show at the front to win F1 Brazil GP by 8.277s over Norris, as Alonso just managed to pip Perez by 0.053s. The Mexican passed him on the inside at Turn 1 on Lap 70, but the Spaniard came back on the final lap to get by at Turn 4.
But Perez did not give up and came at him and only missed the podium by 0.053s. Stroll in fifth made it a good day for Aston Martin, with Sainz in sixth ahead of Gasly, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Ocon in the Top 10 points positions.
Williams’ Logan Sargeant was 11th from Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Piastri as the 14 finishers to see the chequered flag, while Russell was classified in 15th. Everyone from Ocon until Ricciardo finished a lap down, with Piastri ending two laps down.
