If there’s
one thing you can take to the bank it’s that a grand prix at Brazil’s
Interlagos circuit is always going to produce the wildest most unpredictable
race. The famed Sao Paulo circuit upped the entertainment stakes even more in
2024, helped in no small measure by treacherously difficult wet conditions.
First the
sprint race was ‘won’ by Lando Norris who swapped positions with teammate Oscar
Piastri late on in the race, while championship leader Max Verstappen finished
third behind Charles Leclerc. But it would be nothing compared to the chaotic
qualifying for Sunday’s race, which was postponed from Saturday to Sunday due
to torrential rain. Fair enough, there have been quali on Sunday on several
previous occasions. But this quali session was never going to be
straightforward. As it were it included five red flags and lasted for nearly
two hours. One of this red flags caught out both Red Bull and left Max
Verstappen to start the race in 17th place, after also taking a
five-place grid drop for fitting a new internal combustion engine. And as if to
rub salt in the wounds his championship rival Lando Norris scored an eighth
pole of his career. It looked bleak for Verstappen, but the rain predicted for
the race allowed for a glimmer of hope.
Before the
race had even started Lance Stroll drove his Aston Martin into gravel trap.
This prompted race control to abort the start and reset. The actual start of
the race was familiar to Norris as he once again lost the lead off the line.
This time George Russell seized P1 with Norris following close behind.
Elsewhere, Verstappen had made a raft of places and was battling with Lewis
Hamilton for tenth place before long. By lap ten Verstappen was overtaking
Piastri for p7 and suddenly the win didn’t seem as far-fetched as before.
On lap 25
Leclerc pitted for new intermediate tyres but the leading pair of Norris and
Russell stayed out. A virtual safety car was deployed for Nico Hulkenberg and
at this point Russell and Norris opted to stop. However, just as they made
their stops the VSC ended, negating any sort of advantage. This dropped the
pair of them down to fourth and fifth and left Esteban Ocon in the lead of the
race. The Safety Car was called out on lap 30 with Ocon as leader ahead of
Verstappen and Pierre Gasly. Two laps later the race as red flagged after a
heavy crash for Williams’s Franco Colapinto. Ocon ably led the restart and even
gapped Verstappen by three seconds but on lap 40 another safety car was called
on this time to cover the crashed Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
Second time
around Ocon was not able to hold off Verstappen who took the lead of the race.
The conditions clearly favoured Verstappen but the drive he produced was likely
one of the best of his career. He put nearly twenty seconds between himself and
Ocon by the time the chequered flag came out and, once again, underlined his
virtuosic skills at driving in the rain. In fact, while Norris floundered
Verstappen likely produced the drive that has won him his fourth driver’s
crown.
It was an
equally impressive day for Alpine who had both Ocon and Gasly on the podium.
The team had endured a well below par season in 2024 and the boost of a double
podium will do wonders not only for the drivers but for the entire team. George
Russell delivered a strong performance, finishing fourth for Mercedes. Charles
Leclerc followed closely in fifth for Ferrari, while Lando Norris secured sixth
place for McLaren Mercedes. Yuki Tsunoda put in a solid drive to finish seventh
for RB, with his teammate Liam Lawson finishing ninth. Oscar Piastri took
eighth while Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top ten for Mercedes, narrowly
edging out Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT in eleventh.
Despite what seemed to be a bleak grand prix weekend
Verstappen turned it around in truly astounding fashion. He takes a 62 point
lead to the Las Vegas grand prix in two weeks’ time.
