Max Verstappen steals the victory in the rain from Sao Paulo

The true measure of a Formula 1 champion is not how he performs in ideal conditions or behind the wheel of the best car on the grid. Rather, it’s about how they deal with setbacks, when their backs are against the wall, and how they perform under the most difficult circumstances.

That was the lesson Max Verstappen reminded everyone in the sport on Sunday during a rainy and action-packed Brazilian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who started the race 17th, weaved his way through the field as rain poured onto the track at the Interlagos circuit, putting himself into position with a faultless opening stint. After a red flag allowed him a free tire change while in second place, he quickly took the lead and finished his masterclass in style, extending his lead at the checkered flag all the way to 19.477 seconds and his lead over Lando Norris strengthened in the race. drivers championship.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly also stayed out of trouble for the first half of the race, also choosing to stay on track rather than enter the pit lane with a handful of their counterparts. The decision paid off as the pair retained second and third place respectively, claiming a stunning double podium for the French team and rising to sixth in the constructors’ standings.

Here’s what you need to know from a hectic Sunday in São Paulo:

Verstappen reminds the paddock that he is in a class of his own

As impressive as Ocon and Gasly’s performances were, what the Red Bull star did at Sunday’s Grand Prix not only consolidated his grip on this year’s championship lead, but should go down as one of the best performance of his career so far.

Verstappen started the race all the way back in 17th place after Lance Stroll’s ill-timed crash ended his qualifying in Q2 for the first time this season. Then an expected pre-race penalty saw him lose a further five starting places. With Norris starting from pole, it was expected that the McLaren driver would be able to make a significant dent in his deficit. Instead, the result was the complete opposite.

Verstappen jumped to eleventh place on the opening lap of the race (partly because Alex Albon and Stroll did not actually start the race) and continued to work his way through the field in the opening segment. While others hesitated to make bold moves and overtake in the rainy conditions, the 27-year-old looked more comfortable behind the wheel of his Red Bull than he had in weeks.

Combined with the right strategy from his pit wall, Verstappen was one of only three drivers to remain on his first pair of intermediate tires until the red flag mid-race. He earned a free tire change and although he did not claim the lead in the Grand Prix at that point, a later restart allowed him to make the jump on Ocon, who was a sitting duck and could do nothing to defend himself against the attacking Red Bull.

Norris started the race 16 positions ahead of Verstappen. He finished more than 31 seconds behind – and more importantly, five places back. Verstappen, who became only the fifth driver in F1 history to win a race after starting in 17th place or worse, ended the weekend by extending his lead in the drivers’ standings to 62 points.

That should be enough for the three-time reigning world champion to last through the final three races of the season, barring a series of DNFs. After the rollercoaster it has been most of the 2024 campaign for Verstappen, a fourth title in a row is now well within his reach.

Mistakes spoil Sunday for McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari

Verstappen showed the blueprint for managing a race in heavy rain at Interlagos on Sunday. Unfortunately for the other top drivers and teams, the weekend was marred by a series of mistakes, both from a strategic and performance perspective.

A large part of the reason why Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly were able to fill the three spots on the podium was because George Russell and Norris, who finished first and second during the first and second parts of the race, chose to to go to the pit lane for new intermediate tires. virtual safety car. That decision proved costly as both drivers lost track position after a pit stop on lap 28, but the race was stopped five laps later following Franco Colapinto’s crash. The result was catastrophic as Russell and Norris, who finished fourth and sixth respectively, were never again able to mount serious challenges for the Alpines, let alone Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz had a Sunday to forget and crashed both in qualifying and during the Grand Prix, which he was unable to finish. Charles Leclerc spent much of the race in fifth place, proving he did not have the pace to be competitive, but enough to avoid a late challenge from Norris. Lewis Hamilton felt a similar pain after being eliminated in Q1, but managed to gain a single point with 10th place.

Oscar Piastri made perhaps the worst mistake among the chasers when he caused a collision with Liam Lawson and earned himself a 10-second penalty. The violation dropped him behind Lawson’s RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda and finished eighth despite finishing seventh on the track.

The disappointment may not end for Norris and Russell, who also contributed to the confusion at the start of the race when they left their places on the starting grid despite race control calling for a rejected start. The two drivers, as well as Tsunoda and Lawson, are under investigation for a possible violation of the starting procedure as a result.

The weather is the great neutralizer in F1. If you manage to stay error-free and make the right strategy choices, there is a good chance that you can leave Sunday reasonably satisfied with the result. But for the teams at the top of the constructors’ standings, who remain tight with three races to go, Brazil will go down in history as a missed opportunity to make a statement.

Alpine’s breakthrough drastically changes the midfield battle

Alpine had not had a single car in the top five at any point during the first twenty races of the season. When the race went under a red flag and the drivers were brought into the pits after Colapinto’s crash on lap 33, the French team had positioned both Ocon and Gasly in the top three.

Although Ocon lost the lead after a restart following Sainz’s crash, he still finished second and claimed his first podium finish since last season. Gasly also took his first top-three finish in over a year, having last finished third in the Netherlands in 2023.

It has been a difficult season at Alpine and the team has tried to remedy the situation in a number of ways. Oliver Oakes took over as team boss when Bruno Famin resigned this summer. Gasly re-signed with the team, but Ocon agreed to a deal with Haas, paving the way for Jack Doohan to make his F1 debut next season. Yet none of these adjustments had resulted in a change in on-track performance, as the team had collected just one point over the previous five race weekends.

Between Gasly’s points in Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s joint 33 points, Alpine catapulted itself up the constructors’ standings, rising from ninth to sixth place in a matter of hours. The team is now above Haas and RB, but only five points separate the three teams, paving the way for an exciting midfield battle in the final three races.

Chaos during qualifying continues in a slippery Grand Prix

Fans were given a double feature on Sunday after treacherous weather conditions postponed qualifying from its usual Saturday timeslot to the following morning. And while the race provided an entertaining spectacle full of constant action, qualifying was almost as chaotic – and had a significant impact on the results of Sunday’s race.

Five different drivers crashed during qualifying, resulting in a hectic morning for the mechanics, who were forced into a tighter window to make repairs before the start of the race. Colapinto, Stroll, Sainz, Albon and Fernando Alonso were among those with incidents during the session, which saw quite a bit of rain even after being rescheduled.

Albon’s crash was particularly devastating as he was second in Q3 at the time before suffering a huge collision with the barriers. The damage was so extensive and came at such a late stage that there was not enough time to rehabilitate the car and start the Grand Prix, bringing a promising day for the 28-year-old to a premature end.

Although the other four were able to line up on the starting grid, Stroll also failed to turn off the lights after stranding his car in the gravel during the formation lap. The result was two empty spots on the starting grid and Sainz starting from the pit lane, allowing Verstappen to maneuver his way up through the field a little easier than expected.

It had been some time since such heavy rain affected an F1 race, leading to the usual questions about the safety and timing of certain decisions by race control. Ultimately, the race was able to take place almost the entire length and 15 drivers still managed to finish under the difficult conditions.

Lewis Hamilton’s powerful tribute to Senna

From a racing perspective, the weather-affected weekend was an exhausting one for drivers, mechanics and fans alike. However, the paddock made sure to keep the action in perspective by making time for a special memory Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna.

Hamilton was given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Senna’s 1990 McLaren MP4/5B and drive a few laps around the Interlagos circuit on Sunday between qualifying and the Grand Prix. The tribute was a powerful display, especially when Hamilton grabbed a Brazilian flag from a nearby marshal and held it from behind him as he crossed the circuit – in almost identical fashion to Senna after his victory at his home track in 1991.

Not only was the moment emotional for the home crowd in São Paulo, but also for Hamilton, who was open about his affinity with Senna.

“It’s obviously very emotional,” Hamilton said. “I just thought back to my childhood when I saw (Ayrton) racing here as a kid. “When I heard that sound and… saw him drive here and win that race, I just couldn’t believe I got that opportunity to do that, and it was really the greatest honor of my career.”