Max Verstappen serves as a reminder that achieving a first-place finish is what ultimately counts.
Verstappen achieved an impressive victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix, advancing from 17th on the grid to secure his eighth win of the season, finishing nearly 20 seconds ahead of his competitors. Following the three-time champion, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly claimed an unexpected double podium for Alpine.
“My emotions today have been a roller coaster,” Verstappen said. “You know, with qualifying being really unlucky with that red flag. You know, starting P17, I knew that it was going to be a very tough race, but we stayed out of trouble. We made the right calls. We stayed calm. And we were flying. So all of these things together, of course, made that result possible. But I mean, unbelievable to win here from so far back on the grid!”
Prior to the race, during the formation lap, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll encountered a crash, leading Race Control to signal an aborted start. This required the remaining drivers to remain on the grid until further direction. However, Lando Norris proceeded to drive off, followed by several other drivers. This necessitated another formation lap, after which Norris and additional drivers were informed that the incident would be reviewed post-race.
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Once the race commenced, front-row starter George Russell made the best start, taking the lead as the drivers approached Turn 1, ahead of Norris. Yuki Tsunoda maintained his third position for Red Bull, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari moved past Liam Lawson to secure fifth place.
“I just knew that I had to go for it,” Verstappen said. “It’s, of course, always easy to front lock, just trying to balance that out. And I had confidence on the brakes as well. That helps. And, yeah, Turn 1 is always a great corner to pass.”
Meanwhile, Verstappen made a remarkable move from P17. As the cars exited the Senna S, he skillfully navigated to the outside, climbing to P11 behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. By the beginning of lap 2, he successfully overtook Hamilton, entering into a points-scoring position.
Verstappen continued to gain ground, passing Pierre Gasly of Alpine at the start of lap 3 and subsequently overtaking Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin on the following lap. By lap 11, he had impressively reached sixth place.
At the front on lap 20, Russell was still leading, just under a second ahead of Norris. Eight seconds behind the leaders, Tsunoda was leading a DRS train comprising Ocon, Leclerc, and Verstappen.
The race dynamics shifted on lap 21 due to deteriorating weather conditions. Nico Hülkenberg from Haas went off track at Turn 1 and stopped, prompting the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) and instigating a series of pit stops.
After receiving assistance from marshals, Hülkenberg rejoined the race, which ultimately resulted in a black flag for him. As the VSC concluded, the top three drivers—Russell, Norris, and Tsunoda—rushed into the pits for intermediate tires, allowing Ocon to take the lead, with Verstappen moving into P2 ahead of Gasly.
“It’s really nice to be driving around here and having the performance a bit levelled out, you know, on the rain,” Ocon said. “Someone very important to all of us said a long time ago that in the rain, the cars are almost equal. And that phrase didn’t age at all. Yeah, I’m very happy to be today on the podium. I think it’s been awesome. And the support I received here from all the Brazilian fans is incredible. And yeah, I can’t thank everyone enough.”
After the VSC period, Norris passed Russell to claim fourth position. However, worsening conditions led to the deployment of the Safety Car when Franco Colapinto of Williams lost control and hit the barriers, resulting in red flags and a suspension of the race.
Upon restart, Ocon maintained his lead over Verstappen and Gasly, while Norris went wide, enabling Russell to advance to P4. Unfortunately, on lap 40, Carlos Sainz crashed at Turn 8 while attempting to catch Sergio Pérez, resulting in the Safety Car being deployed for another time.
The race resumed at the end of lap 42, where Verstappen executed a perfect restart, remaining close to Ocon. As Ocon attempted to pull away, Verstappen seized the opportunity, overtaking him into Turn 1 to take the lead.
Gasly managed to secure third place, while Russell, Leclerc, and Norris jostled for position. In an effort to avoid a collision, Norris locked up behind Russell, subsequently dropping to P7 behind his teammate Piastri. Piastri, facing a time penalty for a prior incident, later allowed Norris to pass, enabling him to reclaim P6.
“We had such a tough season. We struggled to score points,” Gasly said. “In these conditions, everything was possible. We believed it until the end. Two cars on the podium. I don’t think anyone would have got that on that bingo card, you know, ahead of the season. So it’s just fantastic.”
In the latter part of the race, Verstappen extended his lead significantly, establishing a five-second gap to Ocon with 20 laps remaining, while Gasly trailed three seconds behind in third.
As the race approached its conclusion, Verstappen maintained his commanding lead, ultimately setting an impressive 17 fastest laps, which earned him an additional point. He crossed the finish line to secure his eighth victory of the season, marking his first win since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
Ocon and Gasly’s performances secured a surprising double podium for Alpine, with Russell finishing fourth ahead of Leclerc. Norris, who faced an investigation regarding starting regulations after the original start was aborted, finished sixth, followed by Tsunoda and Piastri, while Lawson contributed to a double points finish for the team ahead of Hamilton.
2024 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 69 2:06’54.430
2 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 69 2:07’13.907 19.477
3 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 69 2:07’16.962 22.532
4 George Russell Mercedes 69 2:07’17.695 23.265
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 69 2:07’24.607 30.177
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 69 2:07’25.802 31.372
7 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 69 2:07’36.486 42.056
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 69 2:07’39.373 44.943
9 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 69 2:07’44.882 50.452
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 69 2:07’45.183 50.753
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 69 2:07’45.961 51.531
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 69 2:07’51.515 57.085
13 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 69 2:07’58.018 1’03.588
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 69 2:08’12.479 1’18.049
15 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 69 2:08’14.079 1’19.649
Carlos Sainz Ferrari 38 – 31 laps
Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 30 – Retirement
Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 0 – Not started
Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 0 – Not started
Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 30 – DSQ
Photo/MaxVerstappen/X
