The Dutch triple world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) gave a blow of authority to his adam by winning a fourth title in a row and reinforced his leadership in the Formula One World Championship by brilliantly winning the rainy and crazy Grand Prix of Sao Paulo (Brazil), the twenty-first of the contest, which was held this Sunday at the Interlagos circuit.
Verstappen, 27 years old, seventeenth at the start – he was twelfth in qualifying and received a penalty of five places on the grid -, starred in the comeback of the day to sign another sensational display. Exchangeable for his sixty-second victory in the premier class, the eighth of the course, by winning the race – with fastest lap, included – ahead of the two Alpine drivers, the Frenchmen Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, second and third, respectively. Who had, by far, the best weekend of the year: their own and that of the French team, which, suddenly, went from ninth to sixth place in the Constructors’ World Championship
The Dutch star, who had not won since the Spanish Grand Prix, in Montmeló (Barcelona) last June, took an important step towards his fourth title, with three races remaining until the closing, on December 8 in Abu Dhabi. The sports idol from the Netherlands now leads the World Cup with 393 points, 62 more than the Englishman Lando Norris (McLaren), who finished sixth after starting from pole position and not only lost a golden opportunity to liven up the competition. ; If not, he has practically thrown in the towel in the fight for the crown.
Verstappen was more ‘Mad Max’ than ever this Sunday. After having won seven of the first ten races of the year, he did not celebrate any victory in the next ten. And with a weekend that started with the sanction of five places on the grid, in which Norris shaved off three points in the sprint on Saturday and that became more complicated for him this Sunday morning, when, after the main qualifying He was in seventeenth place – sixteen behind his main rival – and demonstrated resilience and wisdom.
He brimmed with talent, unhinged his main opponent – who made numerous mistakes – and dealt a brutal blow, in the general classification, but above all on a psychological level, to the World Cup. Verstappen is still the king.
With a master class in driving in all types of adverse situations, Max won a race that his teammate, the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) finished eleventh, three places ahead of the Asturian double world champion Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), fourteenth in the circuit in which he celebrated his two titles (2005 and 2006). The other Spaniard, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), and the Argentine Franco Colapinto (Williams) abandoned due to separate accidents, without regretting any personal injuries.
Describing in detail everything that happened this Sunday could cover several volumes of an encyclopedia, because practically everything happened and things kept happening.
Norris, who had shaved three points off Verstappen on Saturday, had dominated the wet and very bumpy qualifying, in which he signed his eighth pole in the premier class and in which there were up to five red flags. In a session that resumed at seven thirty in the morning, a totally unusual time, after the heavy rains that fell on Saturday afternoon forced the postponement.
The Englishman faced the race 44 points behind Verstappen, damaged by one of the interruptions – the one that caused the accident of the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 45 seconds from the end of Q2, which was not resumed – and which was eliminated, with the twelfth time, in the second round. By adding the five places penalty for changing components of its power unit again, ‘Mad Max’ was going to start seventeenth, adding excitement to a race whose starting time – also to find a better weather window – was moved forward one hour and average over the initially planned schedule.
The leader’s bad luck was shared by ‘Checo’, also eliminated in the second act; in which Sainz also fell, injured – without regretting any damage; He was going to start thirteenth, one place behind the Mexican, but he replaced the gearbox of his SF-24 and finally did so from the pit lane.
Alonso, masterful in the wet with an inferior car, had set the second time in Q2, behind Norris, but he took a risk in the third round and crashed in the eleventh of the fifteen corners – also without any injury -, so He finished ninth and was initially going to start from the fifth row and next to his teammate Stroll
The Argentine Colapinto, also injured -and also without physical consequences- in Q1, started eighteenth. His teammate, the Thai Alex Albon, who despite having destroyed the Williams – fortunately without any personal injuries – in the first corner of Interlagos, during Q3, would have started sixth, was finally unable to do so. So an hour before the start, Verstappen was already fifteenth in the formation; and Alonso had one less rival ahead of him.
The Englishman George Russell (Mercedes) – fourth at the end – started second, alongside his compatriot Norris, from the front row, after a crazy morning qualifying that became the best of the year for RB, which placed the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda in third place and New Zealander Liam Lawson in fifth. The Asian would finish seventh, two places ahead of the Oceanic.
Ocon was fourth on the grid and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who finished fifth, started sixth. The other McLaren, that of the Australian Oscar Piastri – eighth this Sunday – started between the Monegasque and Alonso. All, with the intermediate tire.
To add more surrealism to the day, the start was aborted, since on the formation lap he lost control of his AMR24 Stroll, which was out of competition (so Verstappen was fourteenth before starting). At the same time, while new clouds were approaching the São Paulo track, an investigation was announced against Norris for an alleged infraction in the starting procedure – which came to nothing -; and on the new formation lap it began to rain.
Russell overtook Lando before the first corner and Verstappen gained five places at the first change and was already tenth, riding in the points zone, before the second of the now 69 laps (two less than initially planned).
‘Checo’ spun on the first turn and moved to the back of the group, overtaken by Sainz. Alonso maintained eighth; and Colapinto, after gaining four places, was already twelfth.
The Dutch star passed Gasly on the fifth lap and Fernando on the sixth; and Piastri blocked him as much as he could until he gave up position in tenth. Lawson, in the mother team car, did not put up much resistance either and in lap 11 Verstappen was already sixth, stalking Leclerc, in a small train – behind Tusnoda and Ocon – that slowed down the leader’s desire; . And it was circulating ten seconds behind the leading duo on 20th.
Carlos, who finished thirteenth, took a walk and lost two places at once in favor of Hamilton and Colapinto; and Alonso was eighth in lap 25, one after Leclerc stopped, who repeated the interval to give fifth place to Verstappen shortly before the departure of the German Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) from the track, decreeing a ‘virtual safety car’ that caused a dance of stops, including those of Russell and Norris.
Ocon took the lead and Verstappen was second. It was raining more and more and in lane 30 the safety car came in, when Gasly, along with the previous ones, the only one who had not stopped, was running third. Two later Colapinto crashed, causing an interruption, with a red flag, that benefited the first three; with Norris in fourth position.
To add spice, during the break, Hülkenberg’s disqualification was announced; that he had received help from some officials to return to the track.
The test was relaunched, behind the safety car and with intermediate tires, with Alonso in ninth position, Sainz thirteenth and ‘Checo’ one place behind the Madrid native. And at the first opportunity, Russell passed Norris to place fourth.
Ocon took off, helped by the ‘spray’ his wheels were spitting. And in lap 40, Sainz crashed again – without suffering any injury -, abandoning a race in which the safety car returned to the track.
When the ‘safety’ left, Verstappen culminated his exhibition by overtaking Ocon in the first corner of lane 43, shortly before Norris went wide and dropped to seventh place. And, although Piastri quickly let him pass to place sixth, the Englishman ended up unhinged, regretting at the finish line having missed a very clear opportunity.
Alonso had dropped to fifteenth, after going off on the climb to the finish line; Norris could not pass Leclerc, and Verstappen recalled his best times, opening up a gap to the finish line and completing another brutal work of art, spiced with the fastest lap. The Asturian genius finished fourteenth with severe back pain, announcing to his team that he would last until the finish line in honor of his mechanics, who had done “a great job.”
The next test, the Las Vegas Grand Prix (USA), the penultimate of the World Championship, will be held on November 24 on the urban circuit of that town in the state of Nevada.
(With information from EFE).
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