After delayed and then very eventful qualifying, it was finally Lando Norris who took pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix. He will start in front of George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver, like other drivers in the top 10, took advantage of the chaos of the qualifying session to move up to the second row. He will be accompanied by a Frenchman, Esteban Ocon, who scored a very good fourth place. Behind, we find Liam Lawson, who closes this rather unprecedented top 5.
At the back of the grid, Lewis Hamilton is only 13th, while the Mercedes driver continues his setbacks in qualifying. Further away is Max Verstappen, qualified 12th after being trapped by Lance Stroll's accident in Q2, he fell to 17th position because of his engine penalty. Let us also note the abandonment of Alexander Albon and the start from the pit lane of Carlos Sainz.
As for the survivors of qualifying, the Aston Martins will be able to start, they will start eighth and ninth, just like Franco Colapinto, who will start from 16th place.
Weather-wise, it's not raining in Interlagos, but the clouds are very threatening and it's only a matter of time before the showers return. The track is still wet, so the drivers are all on intermediate tires.
Before the start is even given, Lance Stroll misses the formation lap and spins at turn 4. While trying to return to the track, the Canadian gets stuck in the gravel trap, he cannot no longer move and will therefore not be able to start this race.
The start is delayed by 10 minutes, while Lando Norris is noted for starting the warm-up lap too early. The British driver brought the entire grid with him while the lights were not yet green, thus all drivers breached the start procedure, however only Norris is under investigation, with a verdict expected after the finish.
Russell takes the lead of the race
VIDEO – The start of the São Paulo GP
The start is finally given as drops of rain appear on the drivers' visors. When the lights went out, Russell took off better than Norris and took the lead of the race from the first corner. The rain intensifies and Sergio Pérez spins, he leaves without problem but in last position. At the back of the grid, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton got off to a very good start and are already in the top 10. Franco Colapinto also moved up to 12th place.
The race leader attacks strongly and widens his gap with his runner-up to more than 1.5 seconds. Esteban Ocon retained his fourth place and kept pace with Tsunoda in front of him. Verstappen continues his comeback and takes ninth place from Pierre Gasly, before immediately seizing eighth position from Fernando Alonso.
At the same time, the departure procedure infraction was noted for Russell, Tsunoda and Lawson, as was an incident between Colapinto and Oliver Bearman. Leclerc appears threatening on Ocon, but fails to find the opening on the Alpine. Just behind, Verstappen catches up with Oscar Piastri, taking the fastest lap in the race at the same time.
Bearman received a ten-second penalty for his collision with the only Williams driver present on the track. Verstappen finally passes Piastri without problem, after braking late at the first corner. The Dutchman is very, very fast at the start of the Grand Prix. He is now sixth, after Lawson let him pass.
At the same time, Hamilton made a short pass on the grass, he returned to the track with Colapinto just behind. The Argentinian took the opportunity to overtake the seven-time world champion from the inside at the next corner. Verstappen, Leclerc, Ocon and Tsunoda have grouped together, the four drivers are more than eight seconds behind the two leaders. Hamilton lost two positions at once, overtaken by Bearman then Sainz, and fell to 15th position. The Briton once again complains about his car on the radio, he really seems to be in difficulty at the wheel of his W15.
On lap 20, the top 10 consists of Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Ocon, Leclerc, Verstappen, Lawson, Piastri, Gasly and Alonso. Verstappen tries to overtake Leclerc at the first corner after an error from the Monegasque, but the Ferrari driver defends very well and keeps his fifth place.
Jackpot for Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly
VIDEO – Russell and Norris give Ocon the lead at Interlagos
The rain intensified more and more and Nico Hülkenberg made a mistake, causing a yellow flag, he finally left a few minutes later. The Virtual Safety Car is however triggered, several drivers stop, but not the leaders, trapped by the late timing of this VSC. At the green flag, Norris and Russell pit. Ocon takes the reins of the race, followed by Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, the three did not stop.
The track is now wet and visibility is very poor. Russell and Norris are fourth and fifth, the two drivers are slowing down as the conditions are bad. Norris takes a big risk and shifts onto the straight to pass his Mercedes counterpart. He manages to take the rope and take the advantage, it is just after the end of his overtaking that the safety car is sent onto the track, the rain is considered too heavy.
Red flag! Colapinto hit the wall at the start of the straight. And it was Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly who made the best move by not stopping, since they can now change their tires “for free”.
Before the race resumes, management announces that Hülkenberg is excluded from the Grand Prix. After going off the track, the German received help from the marshals to get back into the race. The top 10, when the Grand Prix restarts, consists of Ocon, Verstappen, Gasly, Norris, Russell, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso and Lawson. There are still 36 laps to go.
Ocon restores the rhythm, Sainz gives up
Stephen Ocon, Alpine A524
Photo de: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
The drivers return to the track behind the Safety Car. Ocon regains the rhythm and keeps his first place but Verstappen remains tight. Behind, Norris makes a mistake and shoots straight at turn 4, letting Russell pass. In the lead, the Alpine has already widened a gap of more than two seconds on the Red Bull driver.
Bearman makes a mistake and narrowly misses hitting the wall, he manages to get away again. The gaps between the leading drivers are more than two seconds and are stabilizing. On the 39th lap, Carlos Sainz hit the wall between turns 7 and 8 and the safety car was recalled.
Three laps later, the race is restarted and Ocon initially keeps the advantage, but not for long, since Verstappen takes the lead straight away. Norris, sandwiched at the restart, misses his braking and shoots straight; this time he lost big by returning to the track in seventh place, behind his teammate.
Verstappen is now more than three seconds in the lead. Piastri let Norris pass, the Briton now gets back on Leclerc. The Australian slips a little and Tsunoda comes back into his escapes. The leader flies away completely, the gap with Ocon is more than six seconds.
Behind, Lawson and Pérez are in the battle for ninth place. In their skirmish, the two pilots touch each other and the New Zealander maintains the advantage. Pérez failed to brake a few minutes later and it was Hamilton who took advantage by ejecting the Red Bull driver from the points zone.
Verstappen's lead is now more than ten seconds, the Dutchman is only putting together the fastest laps. On the 67th lap of the race, Alonso announced on the radio that he wanted to finish this race for the mechanics who repaired his car. The Spaniard complains about his back and appears to be in great pain on the radio.
The checkered flag is finally lowered and it is Max Verstappen who wins the São Paulo Grand Prix from his 17th position on the starting grid. He is followed by the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, both authors of a very good race. For your information, the last French double podium dated from the 1997 Spanish GP! Lando Norris had the very poor performance of the day with his sixth place.
São Paulo Grand Prix – Course
