The true measure of a Formula One champion isn’t how they perform under ideal conditions or when behind the wheel of the best car on the grid. Rather, it’s how they manage adversity with their back against the wall and how they perform under the most difficult of circumstances.
That was the lesson that Max Verstappen reminded everyone in the sport of Sunday at a rainy and action-packed Brazilian Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who began the race in 17th, carved his way through the field as rain poured down to the track at Interlagos circuit, putting himself in position with an error-free opening stint. After a red flag allowed him a free tire change while in second place, he quickly seized the lead and finished his masterclass in style, extending his lead all the way out to 19.477 seconds by the checkered flag and solidifying his lead over Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly similarly stayed out of trouble for the first half of the race, also opting to remain out on track rather than go into pit lane with a handful of their counterparts. The decision paid dividends as the pair held onto second and third, respectively, claiming a stunning double podium for the French team and vaulting the outfit up to sixth in the constructors’ standings.
Here’s what to know from a hectic Sunday in São Paulo:
Verstappen Reminds the Paddock He’s in a League of His Own
As impressive as the drives of Ocon and Gasly were, what the Red Bull star did in Sunday’s Grand Prix not only solidified his hold on this year’s championship lead, but should go down as one of the best performances of his career thus far.
Verstappen began the race all the way down in 17th after Lance Stroll’s poorly timed crash ended his qualifying in Q2 for the first time this season. Then, an expected pre-race penalty knocked him down an additional five starting places. With Norris starting on pole, the expectation was that the McLaren driver would be able to take a sizable dent out of his deficit. Instead, the result was the complete opposite.
Verstappen leapt up to 11th in the opening lap of the race (in part because Alex Albon and Stroll didn’t actually begin the race) and continued to cut his way through the field in the opening segment. While others seemed hesitant to make bold moves and overtake in the rainy conditions, the 27-year-old looked more comfortable behind the wheel of his Red Bull than he had in weeks.
Coupled with the right strategy call from his pit wall, Verstappen was one of just three drivers to stay out on his opening pair of intermediate tires until the red flag in the middle of the race. He earned a free tire change and although he didn’t claim the lead at that point of the Grand Prix, a later restart allowed him to get the jump on Ocon, who was a sitting duck and could do nothing to defend against the charging Red Bull.
"The championship pendulum swings in one corner!" 🤯#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/WZwv6ozkzR
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
Norris began the race 16 positions ahead of Verstappen. He finished more than 31 seconds behind—and more importantly, five places back. Verstappen, who became just the fifth driver in F1 history to win a race after starting in 17th place or worse, ended the weekend by extending his lead in the drivers’ standings to 62 points.
That should be enough for the three-time reigning world champion to hold on across the final three races of the season, barring a string of DNFs. After the rollercoaster it’s been for Verstappen for the better part of the 2024 campaign, a fourth straight title is now well within his grasp.
Mistakes Spoil Sunday for McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari
Verstappen showed the blueprint for how to manage a race in heavy rain on Sunday at Interlagos. Unfortunately for the other top drivers and teams, the weekend was marred by a series of errors, both from a strategy and performance perspective.
Much of the reason why Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly were able to fill the three spots on the podium was because George Russell and Norris, who ran in first and second through the opening part of the race, chose to pit for new intermediate tires during a virtual safety car. That decision proved to be costly, as both drivers lost track position after a pit stop on lap 28, only for the race to be halted five laps later following Franco Colapinto’s crash. The result was catastrophic as Russell and Norris, who finished fourth and sixth respectively, were never again able to mount serious challenges to the Alpines, much less Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz had a Sunday to forget, crashing both in qualifying and during the Grand Prix, which he was unable to finish. Charles Leclerc trundled around in fifth for much of the race, proving to not have the pace to be competitive but enough to stay clear of a late challenge from Norris. Lewis Hamilton felt a similar pain after getting eliminated in Q1 but managed to scrape out a single point with a 10th place finish.
Oscar Piastri had perhaps the worst error among the chase pack when he caused a collision with Liam Lawson and earned himself a 10-second penalty. The infraction caused him to fall behind Lawson’s RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda and finish in eighth, despite finishing seventh on track.
The disappointment may not end for Norris and Russell, who also contributed to confusion at the start of the race when they left their places on the starting grid despite race control calling for an aborted start. The two drivers, as well as Tsunoda and Lawson, are under investigation for a potential start procedure infringement as a result.
Weather is the great neutralizer in F1. If you manage to stay mistake-free and make the right strategy calls, chances are you’ll be able to leave Sunday fairly pleased with the result. But for the teams at the top of the constructors’ standings, which continue to remain tight with three races to go, Brazil will go down as a missed opportunity to make a statement.
Alpine’s Breakthrough Drastically Changes Midfield Battle
Alpine hadn’t had a single car run in the top five at any point in the first 20 races of the season. When the race went under a red flag and the drivers were brought into the pits after Colapinto’s crash on Lap 33, the French outfit had both Ocon and Gasly positioned in the top three.
Though Ocon lost out on the lead after a restart following Sainz’s crash, he still went on to finish second, claiming his first podium finish since last season. Gasly also nabbed his first top-three finish in more than a year after having last finished third in the Netherlands in 2023.
It’s been a difficult season at Alpine and the team has attempted to remedy the situation in a number of ways. Oliver Oakes took over as team principal when Bruno Famin stepped down over the summer. Gasly re-signed with the team, but Ocon agreed to a deal with Haas, clearing the way for Jack Doohan to make his F1 debut next season. Still, none of those tweaks had led to a change in performance on track as the team had amassed just one point over the last five race weekends.
Between Gasly’s points in Saturday’s sprint, and then a combined 33 points on Sunday, Alpine catapulted itself up the constructors’ standings, leaping up from ninth to sixth in a matter of hours. The team is now above Haas and RB, but just five points separate the three teams, setting the stage for a tense midfield battle in the final three races.
Chaos in Qualifying Continues Into Slippery Grand Prix
Fans got a double feature Sunday after treacherous weather conditions delayed qualifying from its usual time slot Saturday to the following morning. And though the race delivered an entertaining display filled with constant action, qualifying was nearly as chaotic—and had a significant impact on the results of Sunday’s race.
Five different drivers crashed during qualifying, resulting in a hectic morning for the mechanics, who were forced into a tighter window to make repairs for the start of the race. Colapinto, Stroll, Sainz, Albon and Fernando Alonso were those with incidents throughout the session, which featured its fair share of rain even after getting rescheduled.
Albon’s crash was particularly devastating as he was in second at the time in Q3 before a massive collision with the barriers. The damage was so significant and came at such a late stage that there wasn’t enough time to rehabilitate the car and start the Grand Prix, so a promising day for the 28-year-old came to an early end.
Though the other four were able to line up on the starting grid, Stroll also didn’t make it to lights out after he beached his car in the gravel during the formation lap. The result was two empty spots on the starting grid and Sainz starting from the pit lane, all of which allowed Verstappen to maneuver his way up the field a bit easier than expected.
It had been some time since such a significant rain impacted an F1 race, leading to the usual questions about safety and timing of certain decisions by race control. Ultimately, the race was able to run at almost full length and 15 drivers still managed to finish in the tricky conditions.
Lewis Hamilton’s Powerful Tribute to Senna
From a racing standpoint, the weather-impacted weekend was an exhausting one for drivers, mechanics and fans alike. However, the paddock made sure to keep the action on track in perspective by making time for a special remembrance of Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna.
Hamilton got the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Senna’s 1990 McLaren MP4/5B and take a couple of laps around the track at Interlagos on Sunday in between qualifying and the Grand Prix. The tribute was a powerful display, particularly when Hamilton took a Brazilian flag from a nearby marshal and held it from behind him while traversing the circuit—in nearly identical fashion to Senna after his victory at his home track in 1991.
Not only was the moment emotional for the home crowd in São Paulo but likewise for Hamilton who has been outspoken about his affinity for Senna.
The noise, the crowd@LewisHamilton at full noise around Interlagos, a place Ayrton Senna wrote some of our most famous chapters as a sport#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/JmejX4TFd9
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
“It’s very, very emotional, naturally,” Hamilton said. “I was just revisiting my childhood as I was watching [Ayrton] race here as a kid. Hearing that sound and … watching him drive here, winning that race, I just couldn’t believe that I just had that chance to do that, and it was really the greatest honor of my career.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brazilian Grand Prix Takeaways: Max Verstappen Steals Win With Heroic Drive in Rain .
