Max Verstappen came through 17th to win F1 Brazil GP in wet conditions ahead of Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
It was all set for a F1 Brazil GP start at Interlagos on the intermediate tyres but Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll spun off on his own to create a chain reaction of an aborted start. The FIA were slightly slow in calling a second lap of aborted start.
Before the marker, McLaren’s Lando Norris continued to move which resulted in an investigation. There was likely grid jump at vacant space left by non-starter Williams of Alexander Albon, but since the start was aborted, the drivers escaped penalty.
The grid formed again and waited for a new re-start time. This time it got going well and Mercedes’ George Russell got the better of Norris to lead the F1 Brazil GP, as Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda fended off Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for third.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc passed Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson for fifth after the Kiwi had to take evasive action, as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri fought off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso for seventh, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in ninth.
The Top 10 was rounded out by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton after a good start along with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen up in 11th. His teammate made progress as well to be 15ht but a spin dropped him to last in the pack with an uphill task.
There was no stopping the Dutchman, though, who picked up Hamilton, Gasly and Alonso to be up in eighth and slot himself behind Piastri. Outside the Top 10, Haas’ Oliver Bearman dropped behind after an off while fending off Nico Hulkenberg.
The Brit was handed a 10s time penalty after contact with Williams’ Franco Colapinto, where Bearman hit the back of the Argentine in the corner. Verstappen, meanwhile, made a fast pass on Piastri for seventh and then made a quick work on Lawson for sixth.
He was then behind the pack led by Tsunoda, who was being chased by Ocon and Leclerc. Just outside the Top 10, Hamilton had an off moment which cost him a place to Hulkenberg and allowed Colapinto to make a move on the Brit for 12th.
The investigation for Norris was put off for after the race along with Russell, Lawson and Tsunoda. While it was stationary at the front, Hamilton was in thick of things as another lock-up allowed Sainz to get through and even Bearman to put up a brave move.
But even Sainz and Colapinto had their moments to drop back behind Bearman and Hamilton. The rain started to intensify at around Lap 22 onward to cause mistakes, even from Leclerc which brought Verstappen in close proximity.
But the Monegasque managed to keep his nose ahead. He pitted first for a new tyre set in a strategic move on Lap 25. Lawson dropped down after a moment with Piastri, as Ocon got through Tsunoda for net third when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
It was for Hulkenberg who was off but managed to continue on for VSC to end. Several of the drivers stopped for a tyre change, as Ocon was in the lead from Verstappen and Gasly after electing not to stop in conditions which started to get worse.
The race was finally red-flagged after Colapinto lost control at a slower speed in the final corner to crash out. The grand prix was already behind the safety car but it turned into a red flag due to the incident, with Ocon leading from Verstappen and Gasly.
The Top 3 got a free stop with Norris passing Russell for fourth, as Tsunoda dropped to sixth from Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso and Lawson rounding the Top 10. Under the red flag, replays showed Piastri crashing into Lawson at Turn 1 while going for a move.
He was handed a 10s time penalty, as a move from Lawson on Hamilton was noted for barging through the Brit at Turn 1 as well. The Kiwi was cleared of any action against his move on the Brit.
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, was black-flagged after he continued on after receiving a push from the marshals. He was disqualified from the running grand prix and couldn’t take the re-start.
Post red flag re-start:
In the lead-up to the rolling start, Bearman and Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu suffered separated spins but managed to continue on. At the front, it was green flag with Ocon leading F1 Brazil GP from Verstappen and Gasly in the Top 3.
But Norris had a moment which allowed Russell to come at him and re-pass him for fourth, as Leclerc and Piastri managed to pass Tsunoda for sixth and seventh. The Monegasque had his own moment, but managed to stay put the Australian.
Tsunoda was eighth as a result, with Hamilton passing Lawson and Alonso to be ninth, with the Kiwi dropping to 11th. There was another off for Bearman on his own but managed to continue on. He had another one to lock-up at Turn 12 and go off.
There was another safety car period after Sainz braked on the white line and had his rear locked to spin out to hit the barriers. He was put under investigation, as the grid awaited for a re-start which Ocon almost aced until the second part of it.
Verstappen took the lead of F1 Brazil GP from 17th, as Ocon was second from Gasly, with Leclerc taking the inside line to fourth from Russell and Piastri, as Norris had a wide Turn 1 moment to drop to seventh in the order from Tsunoda.
The fight for ninth and 10th was between several drivers where Lawson emerged as the winner in ninth from Perez after Alonso had a wide grass moment to drop down the order. Hamilton lost out in this to be 11th, fending off Bearman.
The fight for fourth saw Russell retake the place after a wide moment for Leclerc and he had Norris on his tail after McLaren swapped places with Piastri in seventh. They maintained position but the Australian almost lost out to Tsunoda.
He had a lock-up at Turn 12 and Tsunoda caught up to him, but couldn’t clear him, just like Perez who was on the tail of Lawson. The Mexican tried a move at Turn 1 and went for a switchback at Turn 4, but the Kiwi fended off aggressively to retain track position.
This allowed Hamilton to make a sneaky move against Perez to take away the final point from the Mexican. At the front, Verstappen continued to lap fast lap after taking the lead to eke out a gap of more than 10s on the Alpine pair.
The F1 Brazil GP win for Verstappen ended his win drought since Spain as he did in style with a 19.477s gap and extend his points gap over Norris in the title fight. He led the Alpine pair of Ocon and Gasly, who recorded the first double podium since 2013.
The result helped Alpine jump to sixth over Haas, Visa Cash App RB and Williams at one go. Gasly held off Russell, who had to be content with fourth from Leclerc, with Norris ending sixth from pole from Piastri, who lost seventh due to time penalty.
Tsunoda was seventh with Lawson fending off Hamilton and Perez to the line in ninth. Despite the penalty to Bearman, he was 12th from Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Alonso and Guanyu to round out the 15 runners – where the Spaniard radioed that he was racing for his mechanics despite the back pain.
UPDATE: Hulkenberg was officially disqualified from the race result after he received assistance from marshals who pushed him back to re-join the grand prix. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20S%C3%A3o%20Paulo%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2027%20-%20Physical%20assistance.pdf
Post-race, the FIA informed about investigating Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Russell for altering tyre pressure at the 10-minutes cycle when the grand prix was initially aborted. Having went through the matter, the stewards imposed a 5,000 euros each on the team.
The stewards admit that such breaches carry sporting penalty, but considering the situation as unique due to the special timetable for the race, they imposed a fine as the tyre pressure change was within the allowed parameters.
The FIA note that it shouldn’t be taken as a precedence due to the special circumstances. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20S%C3%A3o%20Paulo%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2044%20-%20Tyre%20Pressure%20Checks.pdf
UPDATE 2: Sainz was handed a reprimand for driving in dangerous driving case after he moved from the scene of his crashing despite initially removing his steering wheel, thereby indicating the marshals that he would abandon the car.
They started the recovery process as well, but seeing Sainz moving again, they stopped. In the end, it was not safe enough for the Spaniard to continue, but considering he acted in an unsafe manner, he was handed a reprimand.
The stewards cleared Lawson and Tsunoda for aborted start infringement as they reacted to the cars ahead and went along. Norris and Russell, however, were handed a fine of 5,000 euros each and a reprimand since they were the lead cars in the front row.
Here’s how F1 Brazil GP sprint panned out
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