It was the final stop of the triple-header, and Brazil certainly did not disappoint. With this being a sprint weekend, there was already plenty of action to go around, but Sunday took the cake with a race that felt more like one giant slip and slide than anything actually resembling a race.
Want to know how your favourites faired? Keep on reading to find out!
Top of the Class:
Max Verstappen — Shootout: 4th | Sprint: 4th | Qualifying: 12th (started 17th due to penalties) | Race: 1st +FL
Master of the class? More like a wizard of the wet. If you weren’t already convinced, Max Verstappen’s performance in Brazil should finally hammer it home: this guy’s on another level. And no, this isn’t a Dutchie peering through orange-tinted glasses—it’s fact. Verstappen’s drive at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix was nothing short of legendary, destined to be replayed, analysed, and mythologised for years to come.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, really. He lit up Interlagos back in 2016, storming from 16th to 3rd, so maybe we all should’ve seen it coming. But really, who predicted this? After a couple of weeks spent under the microscope for his aggressive antics. And with a dire outing in Mexico fresh in the rearview mirror, Verstappen rolled up to São Paulo knowing he’d have to stomach a grid penalty for new components. And what did he do? He went for it like a bull goes for a red flag (Sorry, I’ll see myself out).
Verstappen’s performance was built on an electric opening stint, snatching seven places in a blink to slot into 10th. New intermediate tyres played their part (while much of the grid struggled on tired rubber) and a timely tyre change during the red flag helped matters, but let’s not pretend this was just about strategy. Verstappen’s poise was unparalleled. As others skated around like they were auditioning for Dancing on Ice, Max calmly sliced through the chaos.
And then there was the gap. When the chequered flag waved, Verstappen was almost 20 seconds clear of anyone who dared call themselves competition. He even snagged the fastest lap for good measure, pocketing 26 points and tightening his grip on the championship. Max Verstappen didn’t just win in Brazil; he reminded everyone why he’s the man to beat.
Alpine:
Esteban Ocon — Shootout: 17th | Sprint: 13th | Qualifying: 4th | Race: 2nd
Pierre Gasly — Shootout: 7th | Sprint: 7th | Qualifying: 15th (started 13th) | Race: 3rd
Who had “Alpine double podium” on their 2024 bingo card? I certainly didn’t, and if you say you did, you are either lying or a clairvoyant.
Alpine showed up to São Paulo having barely sniffed the top five all season, but when the heavens opened, so did their opportunities. This marks Alpine’s first-ever double podium under its current branding.
Let’s talk about Ocon first. Our “Estie Bestie” delivered a standout performance, starting with an impressive P4 in qualifying, but he wasn’t content to just sit with that. He drove an absolute belter on race day to snatch second place. Even snatching the lead and giving Verstappen something to think about after the first restart. Sure, Max eventually powered past, but Ocon managed to hold him off and even pulled a gap for a brief moment. It was a show of grit, skill, and just enough audacity to make you sit up and take notice.
As for Gasly, his route to glory was quieter but no less commendable. While Ocon played star pupil, Gasly was the determined understudy, steadily moving up the order from a less-than-stellar qualifying result. But by race end, he got to stand (almost as tall) in third, having fended off a relentless George Russell in the closing stages. No mistakes, no missteps.
And the cherry on top? Alpine’s double podium rocketed them up three spots in the constructors’ standings to sixth. Not a bad weekend for a team that’s been more ‘missing in action’ rather than ‘mission accomplished’ for most of 2024.
Ollie Bearman — Shootout: 10th | Sprint: 15th | Qualifying: 17th (started 15th) | Race: 12th
Ollie Bearman deserves a nod of recognition for his unplanned cameo at Haas, after being asked to step in for an unwell Kevin Magnussen at the last moment. No, it wasn’t the most glamorous of weekends, but the rookie persevered, surviving the chaos and emerging in one piece.
There’s some truth in the old saying: to finish first, you first have to finish. And Bearman did exactly that, all while some of his more experienced peers faltered. Case in point: Hülkenberg’s disqualification after the marshals attempted to give him some roadside assistance back onto the track, Stroll finding himself beachside before lights out, and Sainz and Colapinto calling it a day prematurely. Even Zhou, Alonso, and Bottas, seasoned pros, found themselves trailing behind young Ollie by the chequered flag.
Bearman did have his wobbly moments—some dramatic slipping and sliding that rattled his confidence and led to a bout of overdriving. But he managed to steady himself and regain his composure.
In a race where simply surviving was half the challenge, Ollie kept it together and crossed the line proving that sometimes staying afloat in the storm is victory enough.
An honourable mention goes to the weather.
A tip of the hat to the weather gods, because if there’s one thing that shook up São Paulo and turned it into an F1 classic, it was the relentless rain. Yes, it might have thrown a wrench into Saturday’s qualifying—forcing it into an unplanned Sunday double feature—but what a payoff!
Of course, not everyone would agree this was all sunshine and roses—just ask poor Alex Albon, whose qualifying crash ended his Sunday before the lights even went out. But for the rest of the pack, it was an all-out battle against elements and rivals alike. So, here’s to the weather, the great equaliser and unscripted star of the show.
The struggle bus:
Williams:
Franco Colapinto – Shootout: 14th | Sprint: 12th | Qualifying: 18th (started 16th) | Race: DNF
Alexander Albon – Shootout: 9th | Sprint: 10th | Qualifying: 7th | Race: DNS
The struggle bus is rather packed this week, with multiple drivers in the barriers there is only 1 team that could take the driver’s seat in Brazil. It really couldn’t have been a much worse weekend for the Williams team.
The team from Grove have had by far the highest repair bill as Albon and former driver Logan Sargeant have had their fair share of hefty crashes this season. But now, Franco also got in on the action, as a crash at the Curva do Sol in Qualifying and the pit straight under the safety car during the race was the icing on top of a very bad weekend.
Colapinto was the lone Williams to take part as Albon had a massive smash into the Senna S in Q3 when he had, at the time, a front-row start secured. His time would eventually have been good enough for P7, but the damage was far too much to repair in time for the race.
The economic cost of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix will be felt for years to come, not only in terms of spare parts for the cars, but also the loss of eighth place in the Constructor’s, owing to Alpine’s shock result.
Aston Martin:
Fernando Alonso – Shootout: 16th (started from pits) | Sprint: 18th | Qualifying: 9th | Race: 14th
Lance Stroll – Shootout: 19th (started from pits) | Sprint: 19th | Qualifying: 10th | Race: DNS
I’ll start with Lance Stroll, who quite frankly had an embarrassing weekend. The Sprint was always going to be an uphill challenge from the pits, with Aston’s upgrades not working (yet again), but the Canadian made little impact in the session.
Sunday’s Qualifying saw Stroll bring out a belated red flag as he was the second driver to crash out at the Curva do Sol. It brought an end to Q2, much to the frustration of Red Bull, but his time was good enough to start 10th.
With the team repairing his car in time, a commendable effort considering the short time span, Stroll would bin it on the formation lap into Descida do Lago. After brushing the wall with the front wing, he stopped on the tarmac runoff, but he elected to drive through the wet gravel trap to return to the track and got beached, causing the start to be aborted.
Meanwhile, Fernando also had a difficult weekend. He paid tribute to the mechanics for repairing his car as he crashed in Q3 at Mergulho, but had a miserable ride to P14 as he complained about debilitating back pain, and looked in visible discomfort getting out of the car.
Nico Hülkenberg – Shootout: 12th | Sprint: DNF | Qualifying: 19th (started 18th) | Race: DSQ
Brazil brings back painful memories, especially in the rain. Nico lost out on podium finishes in 2012 and 2016 owing to some wretched luck. 2024 was no different, as he became the first driver since 2007 to be black-flagged in a race.
Nico spun at turn 1 into the runoff and became beached on a bump. The marshalls pushed him off but due to this outside assistance to get going, the Stewards had no choice but to disqualify him.
It was a bad weekend in general for Nico, outqualified in both the shootout and main qualifying by super-sub Ollie Bearman, and he now has some points to chase in the final three races as Haas fall behind Alpine out of nowhere in the battle for sixth.
Carlos Sainz – Shootout: 5th | Sprint: 5th | Qualifying: 14th (started from pits) | Race: DNF
Another member of the double-Sunday crash brigade was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. A real fall from grace after his dominant weekend in Mexico one week prior.
Carlos crashed on the exit of the Senna S in Q2 bringing out the second red flag of the day, with significant damage to the rear of his car the Ferrari mechanics replaced the whole power unit enforcing a pit lane start.
Sainz was running on the fringes of the points in the race before spinning into the barriers at turn 8, bringing out the Safety Car. He also got a reprimand for trying to start the car again with the marshalls attending to his stricken car.
Whilst teammate Charles didn’t have the strongest of weekends, he did at least score some solid points, whilst Sainz’s crashes have certainly dented Ferrari’s late charge as McLaren’s lead grew to 36 points.
Dishonourable mention goes to Lewis Hamilton. This was an even worse weekend for him than Austin, as early exits in both shootouts and qualifying put him well behind teammate George Russell, who has now overturned a sixty-point deficit post-Spa to leapfrog Lewis.
The only saving grace was snatching a point in Sunday’s race and taking Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/5B out for a spin after Qualifying, much to the joy of a passionate crowd.
A brief respite of two weeks before the final three races come thick and fast. Next up is Las Vegas which once again is a Saturday Night race out in Nevada. Will Max Verstappen snatch his fourth driver’s Championship? Tune into qualifying at 6 am on Saturday the 23rd of November, with the race starting at the same time on Sunday the 24th.