Max Verstappen cruised to a comfortable victory at Interlagos, increasing his record for the most victories in a season to 17. While the Dutchman was happy, others—including those involved in the chaos of the first lap—were frustrated. We select five Sao Paulo Grand Prix winners and five finalists.
Champion: Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman will undoubtedly succeed in 2023. He won the Sprint race on Saturday and went on to win the Grand Prix, dominating from pole position, to record an amazing 17 victories out of the 20 races this year.
To everyone’s dismay, he has long already wrapped up the title and isn’t showing any signs of letting up.
Charles Leclerc loses
What needs to happen for Charles Leclerc to have a little luck this season? Having qualified strongly, he was expected to start second on the grid and be one of the few front runners with new softs to work with. However, misfortune befell him prior to the competition began, as he spun out during the Formation Lap due to mechanical difficulties.
The Monegasque driver seemed distraught as he buried his face in his hands and then bemoaned over the radio about how “so ******* unlucky” he was. Subsequently, he sat on the barriers, completely dejected, until eventually returning to the Ferrari garage.
Due to a few minor errors in qualifying throughout the last few racing weekends, Lando Norris has been a little annoyed. He was also not overly pleased with his starting position for the Grand Prix on Sunday. He corrected that, though, by winning the sprint pole and finishing second despite admitting he lacked the speed to compete with Verstappen.
He was the only driver to stay within touching distance of the leading Red Bull on Sunday after a great start from sixth on the grid. Even while it’s not the victory he so desperately wants, a fifth place finish in six Grands Prix and another Driver of the Day award is still a respectable result.
Mercedes was favored to win because of their great performance in Brazil the previous year and the perception that this was their best opportunity to win this season. But in the Sprint, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were both suffering from tyre wear, so their pace was nonexistent.
They were hoping to fix that in time for the Grand Prix, but on Sunday they had the same problems. Both drivers experienced a decline in performance, and George Russell, who retired due to “high and worsening PU oil temperatures,” also had reliability issues.
After grumbling that he was unable to keep up with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine even with the assistance of DRS, Hamilton finished seventh in the end. Subsequently, he jokingly expressed his excitement at never having to operate the W14 once more. Toto Wolff went a step further, calling the race a “inexcusable performance.”
Aston Martin returned to form in Brazil following a late-season collapse that saw their speed entirely vanish and reliability issues resurface. They gave up on the improved floor that gave them so much trouble locking out the second row of the grid for the Grand Prix in Austin.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso both had fantastic races, finishing third and fifth, but it was the Spaniard’s amazing late defense against the Red Bull of
Regaining third place on the final lap, Alonso took his first podium since Zandvoort and eighth of the season, just defeating the Red Bull. It was the kind of drive that will live on in memory for a very long time and demonstrates that the seasoned world champion can execute at any age.
