Formula One returned to one of its most iconic venues as they made their way to Brazil. This circuit has seen championship-deciding battles, iconic races and some of the best open-wheel racing the sport has seen. Interlagos is always sure to deliver great entertainment, and this year’s São Paulo Grand Prix was no different. It delivered a race for the history books, with Max Verstappen putting up a drive that showed just why he is considered a once in a generation talent.
This round started like many this season, with changes before the weekend had even begun. Before the teams had even stepped foot in the paddock, it was announced that championship leader Verstappen would have a five-place grid penalty on Sunday due to an engine change. It was also announced that Haas driver Kevin Magnussen would not be taking part in the weekend due to illness. Reserve driver Ollie Bearman replaced him.
On Friday, the drivers participated in the sprint qualifying. McLaren driver Oscar Piastri took pole position, with his teammate, and championship challenger Lando Norris close behind in second. Verstappen qualified fourth behind Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
It wouldn’t be until Saturday that chaos struck the circuit. As the drivers lined up for the 24-lap sprint race, the question of whether or not McLaren would deploy team orders was the only thing on anyone’s mind.
The sprint race went on much as expected with the McLarens at the front, deploying team orders, controversially so. As Leclerc fought hard to keep Verstappen behind him, Norris won, closing the championship gap to 44 points despite Verstappen coming in third. However, as the day went on and drivers began to prep for qualifying, torrential rain began to fall on the track, leading the FIA to move qualifying to Sunday for only the sixth time in the sport’s history.
When the drivers arrived on Sunday for qualifying, the rain had not yet stopped. The green lights flashed at the end of the pit lane to start a qualifying session that turned the grid on its head. From the beginning, the session was plagued by yellow flags as drivers struggled to find grip. Q1 saw the shocking exit of seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton; Norris also barely escaped elimination.
The session continued with Q2, which saw two red flags and Verstappen’s surprising exit, who qualified P15 but would start the race in P17 after his grid penalty.
The top ten shootout went on much like the rest of the session, full of red and yellow flags as drivers struggled to stay on track. Despite coming close to elimination in both Q1 and two, Norris went on to take pole position.
Drivers lined up on the grid as conditions constantly changed due to the change in the amount of rain. As they made their way through the circuit for the formation lap, Canadian driver Lance Stroll went off track, getting stuck on a gravel trap, causing an aborted start.
Half an hour later, the drivers were finally able to start racing. As the lights went out, Mercedes driver George Russell took the lead, with Norris unable to get a good start off the line. However, the true story of the race emerged at the back of the field as Verstappen made up seven spots on the first lap alone, finding himself already in a points position with 69 laps still to go.
Drivers struggled with track conditions as the rain increased and, just like the qualifying session, the race became full of yellow flags. However, Verstappen continued what many deemed an “overtaking masterclass” as he passed car after car. At the front, Norris was unable to overtake Russell as his rival picked his way through the field.
By lap 10, Verstappen found himself already in seventh place. Making overtakes that many wouldn’t dare attempt in the dry, let alone in the rain with low grip and visibility. He was well on his way to potentially fight the two front runners as the conditions on track continued to deteriorate, and the rain showed no signs of stopping.
Lap 27 marked a turning point for this race. As the rain hammered down the track, Nico Hulkenberg went off track, deploying the Virtual Safety car, VSC. The two leaders, Russell and Norris decided to pit for new tires right as the VSC was ending. Though they lost a lot less time than if they had pitted under full greens, both drivers still came out behind Alpine drivers Estaban Ocon and Pierre Gasly but most importantly they lost a position to Verstappen.
Verstappen was now in second place after making his way through the grid in conditions that were deemed nearly undrivable by many other drivers. The fight was not over yet, as Norris now chased Verstappen in hopes of staying in championship contention.
However, the rain only worsened, and on lap 30, the full Safety Car was deployed due to the lack of visibility and dangerous conditions. During this time, many drivers called for the race to be red flagged. Bearman stated on his team radio that he was “just trying not to die” as he struggled to keep the car on track. After two laps behind the safety car Franco Colapinto lost control of the car and crashed into the barriers finally bringing out the red flag.
This guaranteed a free pitstop for any cars that had yet to stop, including the two Alpines at the front and Verstappen.
Half an hour later, the race resumed, and drivers continued to struggle with finding grip on the track. This included Norris, who went off track, dropping down to fifth place.
Three laps later, another safety car was deployed as Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari driver, hit the barriers becoming the fifth car to dnf and the fourth car to crash in this race.
Verstappen took the lead at the restart as his rival went off once again and fell to seventh. The race ended on lap 69 with Verstappen at the head of the pack and both midfield Alpine drivers completing the podium.
This was Verstappen’s first Grand Prix win since Barcelona in June. The win also extended Verstappen’s Championship lead to 62 points, with three races left in the season.
This was a drive that proved why he is a three-time World Champion. In conditions that caused many to struggle to finish the race, Verstappen rose above the rest and delivered a drive reminiscent of legends like Ayrton Senna. Taking the win from seventh on the grid, in a race that will be remembered for centuries to come.