F1 Brazilian Grand Prix 2024 Review: Max Verstappen shines brightest on gloomy São Paulo day

It was a masterclass from reigning World Champion Max Verstappen as he won the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix despite starting P17, putting in a drive for the ages in São Paulo to take a stunning win under wet conditions.

While Verstappen finished on top of the podium, it was an equally strong and victorious weekend for a struggling Alpine side, who saw both their drivers finish on the podium, with Esteban Ocon leading Pierre Gasly.

The win at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix ended Verstappen’s ten-race winless streak, with his championship rival Lando Norris bottling pole position after pole position and finishing sixth, though he was due to be investigated post race in any case. 

Also read: F1 Brazilian Grand Prix 2024 Qualifying Review: Norris takes pole in chaotic Brazilian Qualifying

Even before the lights could go off, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who had brought out a Red Flag in Qualifying, locked up in the formation lap itself, spinning off, going into the barriers, and failing to get the car going again. He beached himself on the gravel, which led to an aborted start. 

After a short delay, the lights finally went out under a gloomy São Paulo sky as pole-sitter Lando Norris lost the lead right off the line to George Russell due to a shockingly slow start. Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen also had stunning starts, with the latter two moving up to P10 and P11, while Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Pérez, had a spin and dropped to the back of the grid.

Hamilton dropped out of the points places as Verstappen breezed past him heading into Turn 2 on Lap 2. A lap later, the Dutchman picked off his former teammate Pierre Gasly at Turn 1 to move up to P9 as Norris up front came within a second of Russell, but with no DRS on due to the conditions he was unable to attack with more intensity. 

Verstappen continued to simply fly on the track and soon stormed past Alonso, Oscar Piastri, and Liam Lawson in a space of a couple of cars, reaching P6 by Lap 11, just two-and-a-half seconds behind Charles Leclerc.

Further down the grid, Hamilton had a moment as he went off at Turn 12 and was soon picked off by the new crowd favourite Franco Colapinto, which saw the seven-time World Champion drop to P13. 

Leclerc was the first to pit on Lap 25, switching to another pair of intermediates, while Nico Hülkenberg going off at Turn 11 on Lap 27 brought out the Virtual Safety Car, which saw most of the drivers pit to switch to a new pair. The German was ultimately disqualified from the race shortly after for receiving assistance on the track after he had stopped and continued racing. Esteban Ocon, Verstappen, and Gasly did not stop, though, which saw them take the top three positions. Norris moved up to P4 on Lap 30 before the Safety Car was brought out due to the wet conditions. 

Shortly after, the Red Flag was brought out once again as Colapinto went into the barriers on the pit straight, playing into the hands of the top three who hadn’t pitted. Following a short delay, a rolling start got things going as Ocon led the grid and immediately Norris was overtaken by George Russell after going off the track. A couple of laps later, the remaining Haas driver, Ollie Bearman, lost his rear and went into the barriers at Turn 7, though he somehow managed to keep going.

Lap 39 saw the Safety Car deployed once again as Carlos Sainz crashed out, losing his rear at the Turn 8 entry and smashing into the wall. Racing resumed on Lap 43 as Ocon got things going for a second time, but Verstappen swooped down on the inside of his Alpine to take the lead of the race as Norris went wide and dropped to P7. 

While Pérez, Lawson, and Hamilton were battling it out for the final two points, it was Pérez’ teammate putting in fastest lap after fastest lap up ahead. Verstappen eventually took the win, 20 seconds clear of Ocon in P2, with Alpine making it two on the podium as Gasly finished third and Russell, Leclerc, Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Piastri, Lawson, and Hamilton rounding out the points places in that order, although a couple of those drivers, including Norris, were scheduled to be investigated post race due to various rule infringements. 

Verstappen now has a 62-point lead over Norris in the Drivers’ Standings, with Leclerc 24 points behind the McLaren driver.

In the Constructors’ championship, Alpine have taken a huge leap to move into P6, getting past Haas, VCARB, and Williams.

With the triple header coming to an end, racing will resume in three weeks’ time as the grid moves to Las Vegas for the first of the final three races of the season.