Although he sealed his third consecutive title a month ago, Max Verstappen has not satisfied his voracious appetite. The Dutch driver performed fully this weekend at the São Paulo Grand Prix, the twentieth event of the season, and after imposing his law on Saturday in the sprint, he also won the main race with great authority, raising his record to 17 of victories per season.
Lando Norris, more competitive than McLaren expected in this scenario, tried to surprise Max, twice, at the start, but in the race he could not stop the Red Bull driver, intractable in the face to face with the British. Fernando Alonso gave everything to get his eighth podium of the season, executing a masterful defense against Sergio Pérez with the fastest car on the grid.
After hitting rock bottom in Austin and Mexico, with double abandonment by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin needed a favorable result to say goodbye to the final stretch of the championship with a better taste in its mouth. And since Friday they made it clear that in Brazil His pace was promising. Those from Silverstone opted for a hybrid between the old aerodynamic package and the one they debuted without success in the United States. And it worked.
Leclerc’s misfortune
The Interlagos circuit never disappoints. Despite being a narrow track and with limited passing points, there are always surprises. On Friday, in qualifying the weather factor came into play and this Sunday, the first blow came before the race started. Charles Leclerc, who started second on the grid behind Max Verstappen, lost control of his Ferrari during the formation lap and crashed into the wall, which left him out of the race before it started. “How can I be so unlucky?” The Monegasque pilot claimed to give credit to what happened. The damage to his car forced him to retire.
Charles Leclerc and the reason that left him out in the training round at Interlagos 🔍
“How can I be so unlucky!” 🗣️
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) November 5, 2023
His misfortune benefited the two Aston Martins, who automatically gained a place to start second (Stroll) and third (Alonso), respectively. Although starts are Fernando’s specialty, having so many meters ahead until the first corner was not in his best interests. Norris, with an incredible maneuver, and also Hamilton gained the position from the two Silverstone cars.
At this point chaos broke out. A brutal accident by Albon and Magnussen left them both out of action, also ruining Ricciardo’s chances. Red flag more than premature, without having completed a lap. And a new opportunity for the survivors in the ‘restart’.
Norris tried again, but Verstappen reacted with more anticipation. Alonso attacked Hamilton unceremoniously and overtook him to regain third position. Seeing the pace of the Red Bull and the McLaren that preceded him, Fernando needed to slow down the Mercedes to try to shore up his podium chances.
Without giving up, Norris showed his claws back to Max, who controlled the situation impeccably. Carlos Sainz, who had started eighth, had Stroll within reach of him. The Canadian, second on the grid and sixth at the start, was trying to take advantage of his best chance of the season, with a pace. Checo, on the other hand, had climbed five positions after 18 laps to be fourth, in the wake of Alonso, after leaving Russell and Hamilton behind with much superiority.
Alonso, on the ‘virtual’ podium
The Mercedes threw the bait and after Russell stopped, Red Bull called Checo to the pits. The Mexican, who returned to the track behind Hamilton, protested on the radio about a strategy that forced him into another fight with the seven-time champion, whom he overtook for the second time.
Tire management, essential with the high temperatures in Interlagos, pointed to a high-tension finish of the race. Stroll flew with the media and overwhelmed the Mercedes to rise to the ‘top five’. Alonso successfully completed his first pit stop, maintaining third place and the virtual podium, although with 40 laps ahead, nothing was decided.
The Mercedes, which a year ago were the fastest in São Paulo, with Russell and Hamilton taking the first two steps of the podium, did not have the same sensations this weekend. On Saturday, in the sprint race, both cars had many degradation problems, that were repeated. Hamilton alerted the wall of his difficulties in the face of pressure from Sainz, who came with much more pace after overtaking Russell.
Czech, the threat
Verstappen kept Norris at bay, five seconds behind, both light years behind the rest, while Alonso pushed to prevent Checo from getting close enough to have the DRS and Stroll lapped at the same times as the Mexican with the Red Bull. Aston Martin offered spectacular pace, but there was one last push left. Pérez attempted to undercut the Asturian, but the Silverstone wall responded with a quick stop from Fernando, who returned to the track with four seconds ahead of the Mexican and new soft tires to face the final laps.
Related news
The Mexican, who defends the runner-up position against Hamilton, stalked Alonso until the end. The Asturian, without top speed and suffering on every straight line against the Red Bull, gave an impressive driving lesson, maximizing all the virtues of his AMR23, without being able to manage tires, trying to contain Checo.
Pérez’s overtaking with one lap left already seemed like the sentence. But Fernando did not give up. On a circuit where he won two titles, in 2005 and 2006, he resorted to his magic to surprise the Mexican again in the slipstream and beat him under the same finish line by 53 thousandths. Eighth podium more than deserved for Alonso, who equals Alain Prost’s 51 as fourth driver of the story that has been in the box the most times, with Stroll completing the Aston Martin party in the ‘top five’. While the cameras focused on the Alonso-Checo duel, Verstappen scored his 17th victory ahead of Norris.