© Getty ImagesMax takes an outstanding win in a rain-soaked Brazil Grand Prix - ReportWith qualification postponed until early Sunday morning, no one could have imagined the day of racing that lay ahead.
Asqualificationthrewupitsownamountofdrama,theraceitselffollowedsuitwithoneofthespectaclesoftheseason,withMaxhavingoneofthebestdrivesoftheyear.ReadaboutallthedramafromQualiandtheraceitselfbelow...
A Tough Quali© Getty Images
The Bulls suffered a shock Q2 exit in a chaotic, soaking wet qualifying session for the São Paulo Grand Prix that was ultimately disrupted by five red flags due to multiple crashes.
Both Max and Checo were disadvantaged by the third of those red flags. Though both were down in the drop zone midway through Q2, the Bulls had made the smart move to Intermediate tyres to take advantage of an improving track in the closing stages.
Neither was able to profit from the switch, however, as with less than two minutes left on the clock, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed. After a 40-second delay, the session was red-flagged, and with just 45 seconds left on the clock, there was no chance of a resumption, and Max was eliminated in P12, with Checo just behind in 13th. With Max set for a five-place grid for PU changes, the Bulls must now go on a massive charge in this afternoon’s grand prix.
Ahead of the session, a long queue of cars formed at the end of the pit lane, with everyone on the blue-banded full wet tyres on board and fuelled for multiple flying laps. Williams’ Alex Albon was first on track, but it was Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who set the early pace with a lap of 1:29.916. Checo slotted into P2 with a time of 1:30.035 but RB’s Yuki Tsunoda then bypassed both with a lap of 1:29.172.
The session was soon halted, however. Franco Colapinto lost control of his Williams in the middle of Turn 3 and spun off into the barriers.
After an eight-minute delay, the action got underway again, and it was now a lottery of who would get the best of the conditions as water was displaced, fuel loads came down and the rain began to ease.
With two minutes remaining, Max jumped from the midfield to fifth, but his lap was deleted as double yellows came out for an off for Nico Hülkenberg and the champion plummeted down to P12. But, in the chaotic final seconds and with alarm bells ringing, Max dug deep and produced a superb lap of 1:28.522 to jump to the top of the order ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell. Checo, meanwhile, eased through to Q2 in P8 thanks to his early flyer in better conditions.
Further back, there was no place in Q2 for Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver dropped out in P16 ahead of the Haas of Ollie Bearman, the unfortunate Colapinto, the second Haas of Hülkenberg, and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu.
Checo was swiftly into the groove at the start of Q2, and after a smattering of rival laps around 1m29s, the Mexican claimed top spot with a lap of 1:28.158. Max then powered past that, clearing his teammate by 0.387s to set a time of 1:27.771.
All Day Rain© Oracle Red Bull Racing
However, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri had made the switch to Intermediate tyres and after a cautious pair of prep laps, the Australian jumped to P1 six tenths of a second ahead of Max before improving again to a swift 1:25.179.
That sparked a mass move to the green-banded tyres but while Russell and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were able to exploit their Inters to climb to second and third respectively, ahead of Max, there was no chance for anyone else to improve before the session was red-flagged for a second time. Carlos Sainz spun in Turn 2, and the Ferrari driver went backwards into the barriers, causing heavy damage to the back of the car.
After another eight-minute halt, the session was restarted and once again, on a drying track, the lottery kicked into gear. And this time it was the Bulls who lost out.
Norris was first out on track, and after two massively improved laps, the Briton jumped to the top spot with a lap of 1:24.844. However, further back on track, Stroll crashed in Turn 3 and the Bulls were frustratingly denied a final charge up the order.
Also eliminated at the end of the middle segment were Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in P11, Sainz in 14th place, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P15.
At the start of Q3, it was Norris who made the most of the conditions and the McLaren driver took top spot with a lap of 1:24.158, half a second clear of Albon, with Piastri in third place.
However, almost immediately after Norris crossed the line, the red flags were flown for a fourth time. Fernando Alonso lost control in Turn 11, and he went off into the barriers at high speed.
After a 12-minute delay to repair the barriers, and with seven minutes left, the session resumed. But once again, the action was brief. With three minutes remaining, Albon’s Williams stepped out under braking into Turn 1 and he slammed hard into the barriers, doing severe damage to the rear and front left of his car. The red flags appeared for the fifth time.
And when the session resumed for the final time, there was no stopping Norris. The Briton improved again to take pole with a time of 1:23.406 ahead of Russell, with VCARB’s Yuki Tsunoda in third place. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was fourth ahead of the second RB of Liam Lawson. Leclerc qualified sixth ahead of Albon and Piastri, with the Astons of Alonso and Stroll in ninth and tenth.
It was vintage Verstappen in São Paulo as Max rose from 17th on the grid at the start to claim an incredible eighth victory of the season at the end of a hugely dramatic, unpredictable rain-hit race at Interlagos. Checo Pérez, meanwhile, finished in P11, only losing out on points in the closing stages of a bruising race in a chaotic midfield.
Max With The Team© Getty Images
“Wow! It's been a long time coming, but boy, was that worth the wait,” said GP over the radio as Max crossed the line 20 seconds ahead of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
It was definitely an emotional win; I was really motivated and put everything into this race and I surprised myself today as I wasn’t expecting to finish in P1.
“Oh, yes! What an unbelievable race, guys,” Max laughed. “You know what that is? Simply lovely!”
At the start, Russell reacted best to the lights, and on the run to Turn 1, he took the lead ahead of Norris. Behind the top two, Tsunoda held third, ahead of Ocon and Leclerc, who got past RB’s Liam Lawson.
Further back, Max made a super start from P17, and as the field exited the Senna S, he had charged through to 11th place behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. There was no stopping the champion’s charge, however, and at the start of lap 2, he dived down the inside of the Mercedes to snatch P10.
There was trouble for Checo though. The Mexican got away slowly and was passed by Max in the opening corners. And on lap 2, the Minister spun midway through the lap and dropped back to P17.
Max was on a march though. After picking off Pierre Gasly’s Alpine at the start of lap 3, he muscled his way past Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso on the following lap. He then chased down Oscar Piastri and, on lap 10, launched a superbly controlled attack down the inside to power past the Australian into Turn 1. VCARB’s Liam Lawson was the champion’s next target, and on lap 11, he eased past the New Zealander in Turn 8 to claim sixth place.
At the front, on lap 20, Russell still led, just under a second ahead of Norris. Eight seconds behind the top two, Tsunoda headed a DRS train consisting of Ocon, Leclerc and Max. Being bottled up in sixth was costing the champion time and he was now almost 12 seconds off the lead.
Checo, meanwhile, was in P16 and chasing down Hamilton, who was struggling badly with his Mercedes, which he said was “locking up everywhere” and “bouncing all over the place.”
In worsening rain, on lap 27, the complexion of the race changed. Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg went wide in Turn 1 and he stopped at the edge of the track. The VSC was deployed and that sparked a flurry of pit stops.
With the aid of marshals, Hülkenberg was able to get going again, and just as the VSC ended, the top three of Russell, Norris and Tsunoda dived into the pits for more Inters. That promoted Ocon into the lead, with Max in P2 ahead of Gasly.
With the VSC period over, Norris eased past Russell to claim fourth place ahead of Russell, but with the conditions worsening badly, the Safety Car was eventually deployed. And when Williams’ Franco Colapinto lost control in Turn 12 and hit the barriers, the red flags came out and the race was halted.
When the race got going again, Ocon held his lead over Max and Gasly, but behind them Norris went wide, and Russell was able to sneak through to P4. Further back, Checo made up two places at the restart, rising to P12 behind Lawson.
On lap 40, though, Sainz, who had been trying to catch Checo, crashed at Turn 8, and the Safety Car took to the track for the second time.
The SC left the track at the end of lap 42, and this time Max read Ocon’s mind. He stuck with the Alpine all the way through the final corners, and when the Frenchman tried to pull away, Max stayed close enough to dive down the inside into Turn 1 and steal the lead.
Behind them Gasly managed to hold onto third, but Russell, Leclerc and Norris were all jockeying for position. Desperate to avoid a collision, Norris locked up behind Russell and dropped back to P7 behind teammate Piastri. The Australian, facing a 10-second time penalty for a collision, would later wave the Briton through to P6. Further back, Checo‘s restart was also good, and the Minister elbowed his way through to claim P10 behind Lawson.
At the front, Max began to stretch away from the pack, and with 20 laps remaining, the Dutchman had pulled out a five-second gap to Ocon, with Gasly three seconds further back in third.
On lap 55, Checo attacked Lawson, but though the Minister got the inside line into Turn 1 and drew alongside, the New Zealander refused to back out and there was brief contact. The VCARB driver managed to hold ninth, and in Turn 4, Checo went wide and Hamilton snuck through to bounce the Red Bull out of the points.
In the closing stages, Max took complete control, and after punching in a sequence of fastest laps that earned him a bonus point, the Dutchman crossed the line almost 20 seconds clear of the chasing pack to take a simply stunning eighth win of the season and his first since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
Max On the Podium© Getty Images
In those conditions, the driver’s skill really comes to the fore, and Max was in a league of his own. As a team, we got all the calls right, and the car had great pace.
“That was a master class today,” said Team Principal Christian Horner. “In those conditions, the driver’s skill really comes to the fore, and Max was in a league of his own. As a team, we got all the calls right, and the car had great pace. So, an outstanding drive to come from 17th this morning. It felt like everything had gone against us, but he turned it round. An incredible performance from him and one of his very best, absolutely.”
Max Wins Brazil!© Getty Images
Behind the champion, Ocon and Gasly completed a shock double podium for Alpine, while Russell took fourth ahead of Leclerc. Norris, facing an investigation for breaching starting regulations when the original start was aborted, finished sixth ahead of Tsunoda and Piastri, while Liam Lawson made it a double-points finish ahead of Hamilton. At the flag, Checo was left with P11.
The result means that Max leaves Brazil with an expanded advantage over Norris of 62 points. The victory also gives the team a boost in the Constructors’ Championship with the Bulls now just 13 points behind second-placed Ferrari and 49 behind leaders McLaren.
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