Max Verstappen has clinched an astonishing victory in a chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The Dutch driver, starting from P17, secured his first win since June amidst shifting weather and intense drama. The race also saw Alpine achieve a remarkable double podium finish.
The mayhem began even before the race started. Lance Stroll’s spin during the formation lap led to confusion over the aborted start procedure. Pole-sitter Lando Norris and several others drove away while some cars remained on the grid. As a result, Norris, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson face post-race investigation for start procedure infringement.
When the Grand Prix finally kicked off, Russell made a better start, leading Norris, while Verstappen swiftly moved through the field. As rain levels fluctuated, a red flag was waved on Lap 33 following Franco Colapinto’s Williams crash. This came shortly after Russell and Norris lost out by pitting just as a Virtual Safety Car period ended.
At the restart, with just over half the race remaining, Esteban Ocon led Verstappen and Pierre Gasly. After another restart – following a Safety Car deployment due to Carlos Sainz’s crash – Verstappen surged ahead. From there, the world champion looked unbeatable, crossing the finish line with a commanding 19.477s lead.
It turned out to be a fantastic day for Alpine, with Ocon and Gasly holding onto P2 and P3, securing a double podium. This remarkable result catapulted the team from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ standings.
Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, followed by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Norris, in a surely disappointing sixth place, lost ground to Verstappen in the championship. McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri initially finished seventh but received a 10-second time penalty for colliding with Lawson, dropping him to eighth.
This promoted Tsunoda to seventh, making it a double points finish for RB as Lawson ended up ninth. Lewis Hamilton claimed the final point for Mercedes after fending off a charging Sergio Perez, leaving the Red Bull driver in P11.
Ollie Bearman took 12th for Haas after an eventful race, including some off-track moments and a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Colapinto. Valtteri Bottas finished 13th for Kick Sauber, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and fellow Kick Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu, who were the final classified runners.
Sainz and Colapinto both ended their races prematurely due to crashes, while Hulkenberg faced disqualification just before the restart. The Haas driver received a black flag after marshals assisted him in returning to the track following an earlier off-course excursion.
Stroll’s Aston Martin didn’t make it to the starting grid after his spin during the initial formation lap. Meanwhile, Albon’s Williams remained in the garage, as the team couldn’t repair his car in time following his qualifying crash earlier in the day.
