QWhat a dantesque Brazilian Grand Prix! Between extreme weather conditions, repeated track exits, yellow flags, safety cars, red flags, fights and twists and turns, we weren’t bored at Interlagos this Sunday. It was Max Verstappen (Red Bull) who took advantage of all this chaos to win. This is the Dutchman’s first victory since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23.
The Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), who started in pole position, lost his first place at the first turn, overtaken by his George Russell (Mercedes) who started alongside him on the front row after a delayed start due to an exit from the road by Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) during the formation lap. Behind, Max Verstappen, who started in 17th position after a penalty for changing the engine beyond the authorized limit, quickly returned to the top 10.
While the safety car was brought out on the 30th lap due to heavy rain, the race was interrupted for a little over 20 minutes after Argentinian Franco Colapinto (Williams) went off the track on the 33rd lap. Verstappen finally took the lead on the 43rd lap and never let go.
More surprisingly, Esteban Ocon took second place and his teammate Pierre Gasly completed the podium. The big loser of the weekend is Lando Norris. The Briton finished only 6th and almost said goodbye to the title of world champion. By signing the 62nd victory of his career, the 8th this season and the first since the Spanish Grand Prix at the end of June, Verstappen regains his distance from Norris in the championship. The Dutchman has 393 points against 331 for the Briton who remains the only one who can deprive Verstappen of a fourth consecutive title.
The drivers will now benefit from three weeks of rest before the next Grand Prix scheduled in Las Vegas on Sunday November 24.
Belgium
