Saturday
Sprint
The Sprint Race at Interlagos set the tone for the drama that would unfold on Sunday, as Lando Norris delivered a near-flawless performance that showcased both McLaren’s pace and his growing confidence in the title fight. Lando defended his position against Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, whose mid-race pace was incredibly fast for the the young driver. Behind them, chaos brewed in the midfield: Oscar Piastri tangled with Charles Leclerc through Turn 4, triggering a brief virtual safety car that compressed the pack and reignited battles for the final points positions. Max Verstappen, hampered by a setup issue and saving his engine for the main race, settled for a low fourth place, an unusually quiet showing from the defending champion who has 13 sprint wins in his career. As the final flag fell, these drivers were able to finish in the points:
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): +0.845
- George Russell (Mercedes): +2.318
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing): +4.423
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +16.483
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +18.306
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): +18.603
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +19.366
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +23.933
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls): +29.54
Sprint Crashes
Gabriel Bortoleto in the Sauber suffered a tremendous crash in the last lap of the sprint race. While trying to overtake William’s Alex Albon, Bortoleto caught a damp spot in the track and lost control of the Sauber, sending him into the barrier with a 33G impact and then ricocheting into the adjacent barrier at 57G.
The violent impact was powerful enough to send his car briefly airborne, though he was able to walk away from the crash uninjured. Oscar Piastri also suffered a crash due to the track condition, making him unable to finish the race. The Australian lost control after hitting the curb at Turn 3 on lap seven, spinning into the barriers and ending his race, further allowing Lando Norris to increase the lead in the World Drivers Championship.
Qualifying
Saturday had also presented its fair share of drama via Qualifying, as it unfolded under the moody threat of rain clouds, the kind of atmosphere that has often turned the São Paulo circuit into a test of nerve as much as speed. Lando Norris delivered a lap of pure precision in Q3, extracting every ounce of grip from his McLaren to seize pole position by just over a tenth of a second ahead of Mercedes prodigy Kimi Antonelli while fellow title contender Verstappen made a surprise exit in Q1, with the Dutchman complaining of no grip and several other setup issues in his RB21.
In the wake of these struggles, it was confirmed in the hours prior to Sunday’s race that Red Bull had opted to make sweeping changes to Verstappen’s car, which included fitting a new power unit and various elements that went beyond his allocation for the season. As such, with these alterations made under parc ferme conditions, Verstappen would start the Grand Prix from the pit lane. Another driver to make changes beyond their allocation was Ocon, the Frenchman’s Haas having taken on a new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), which meant that he too would line up in the pit lane for the race start. Both of the Ferrari drivers struggled in qualifying, as Charles Leclerc slid wide at Juncão and Lewis Hamilton struggled to keep the car balanced through the fast middle sector at São Paulo.
Sunday
Lights Out!!
Once again, the Autódromo José Carlos Pace track never disappoints packing the race with action as the drivers struggled for position. Lights out and away we go marks the beginning of the Brazilian GP, although the drivers were all able to make it through Turn 1. Later in lap one, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, at the Brazilian’s home race, deployed the safety car after Aston Martin’s Lance stroll made contact with the Sauber on Turn 4, pushing the young driver out of his home race. This double DNF over the weekend crushed his high expectation for the race.
“I’m just very upset because it’s my first home race so you always expect to do a good job, or at least race a little bit,” he said. “I think it has been one of the toughest weekends of my whole career because I see that my fans are here, my family, my team.”
– Gabriel Bortoleto
World Drivers Championship leader Lando Norris began the Sunday race on pole position, after his near perfect performance during Qualifying, he reamed as the race leader despite the initial lap one chaos.
A strong weekend for Ollie Bearman saw the Haas racer cross the line in sixth, while the Racing Bulls pair of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar boosted their team’s points tally in seventh and eighth, respectively. An incident between the pair on the final lap was noted by the stewards, although it was later decided that no further investigation was needed.
Nico Hulkenberg followed in ninth for Kick Sauber, and Pierre Gasly grabbed the final point on offer for Alpine in 10th. Just missing out was Alex Albon for Williams in 11th, who placed ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon and the other Williams machine of Carlos Sainz.
- 1). Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 2). Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 3). Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 4). George Russell (Mercedes)
- 5). Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- 6). Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- 7). Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- 8). Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- 9). Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- 10). Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Conclusion
Double Ferrari DNF
A seemingly more and more common occurrence, the Ferrari team suffered another disappointing race weekend with zero points scored. Oscar Piastri locked up and struck Antonelli, sending the Mercedes into Charles Leclerc, damaging the rear wing and as a result was forced to retire his damaged Ferrari from the race. Lewis Hamilton retired the car in the pits midway through the race, having picked up floor damage in a lap one incident that also saw him take a 10-second time penalty. Ferrari executive chairman John Elkann warned that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc needed to “focus on driving and talk less.”
Warned after the nightmare weekend for Ferrari at Interlagos, it appears that the standards of Ferrari are falling short; these results dropped Ferrari down to fourth in the constructors’ standings. As both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc continue their winless streak this season, the possibility of a winless season for Ferrari becomes closer to reality, unless they see the checkered flag at the last three races in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. If neither driver is able to secure a victory, this will become the team’s first winless season since 2021. Despite the slump, the team finds themselves in the Elkann, believing they could finish the season strong and rise to fourth place in the Team Constructors Championship as the fight between Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari remains close, with only a point differential of thirty six points.
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