Lando Norris has been declared the winner of the São Paulo Grand Prix, but the real standout is Max Verstappen. Starting from the pit lane, an early stop due to a punctured tire, and still finishing third (!): unprecedented. The Dutchman managed to limit the damage in the title fight, although Norris made the best progress in this regard.
Here’s a quick overview of the race:
ROUND 1/71: Pole sitter Lando Norris gets off to a good start, maintaining the lead. Verstappen, who started from the pit lane, is already in sixteenth place after the opening round. This is partly due to Lewis Hamilton damaging a front wing on the back of Colapinto’s car and Gabriel Bortoleto being pushed into the wall by Lance Stroll. For the Brazilian, it’s an immediate end to his (home) race. And: safety car!
ROUND 6/71: The field is back on track, but immediately there’s trouble in turn 1. Oscar Piastri hits Antonelli, who in turn hits Charles Leclerc. This results in Leclerc dropping out, and a virtual safety car. Verstappen moves up to P13. At the front, Norris leads, with Piastri behind him. A duel is imminent.
ROUND 8/71: Verstappen enters the pits, and not without reason. The data shows a suspected punctured tire, so he switches from hard to medium tires. He resumes the race from the eighteenth place, only to overtake two drivers shortly thereafter.
ROUND 19/71: Bad news for Piastri. The Australian, chasing teammate and title rival Norris from P2, receives a ten-second time penalty for the clash with Antonelli. Meanwhile, the drivers are trickling into the pits for a first stop. Verstappen, who stopped earlier, moves up significantly: by round 22, he’s in fourth place.
ROUND 35/71: Norris makes his pit stop, switching to soft tyres and thus opting for a two-stop strategy. He re-enters the race behind Verstappen, but a duel between the two is unlikely. Norris’s tyres are too fresh, and Verstappen’s are already 24 laps old. Verstappen soon makes his second stop. However, with another set of medium tyres, the Dutchman could potentially finish the race. Could there be a surprise in store…?
ROUND 48/71: Two-thirds into the race, Antonelli and George Russell make their second stops in quick succession. This moves Verstappen up to second place – if he can manage a one-stop strategy, he could ‘simply’ finish on the podium. That would be something.
ROUND 55/71: After Norris’s pit stop, Verstappen takes the lead. However, he won’t be able to finish the race on medium tyres. So, he makes a pit stop for new soft tyres. This drops the Dutchman back to P4 behind Norris, Antonelli, and Russell. But he’s ahead of Piastri and still has a chance at a podium finish.
ROUND 63/71: Verstappen catches up with Russell, and the Dutchman makes a stunning overtaking move on the outside, securing P3. Unbelievably, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he’s set to finish on the podium. The top ten at this point are: Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen, Russell, Piastri, Bearman, Lawspm, Nico Hulkenberg, Hadjar, and Pierre Gasly.
ROUND 71/71: In the final lap, Verstappen must make his move for Antonelli’s second place. He doesn’t quite manage it, but third place is still an incredible achievement considering his issues this weekend and starting from the pit lane. Norris crosses the finish line first, extending his championship lead to 24 points over Piastri and 49 over Verstappen.
