Sao Paulo Grand Prix: F1 Race Results

Rain continued to fall at Interlagos, proving a challenge for the drivers on track

James Fiorucci 7 min read

On a weekend full of drama already, could the Sao Paulo Grand Prix produce an equally exciting race?

Many drivers found the barriers during Qualifying earlier in the day (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

The weekend started normally enough. Friday saw Lando Norris top the timing screens in the sole practice session, while his teammate Oscar Piastri placed his McLaren on Sprint pole.

Intra-team strategies played a role in the Sprint race itself on Saturday, as Piastri was forced by his employers to let Norris by to benefit his Title fight against Max Verstappen. Verstappen crossed the line in third place, but dropped to fourth with a five-second penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement.

Heavy rain rolled in above the Autodromo de Interlagos soon after the Sprint, and Qualifying for the main race was subsequently postponed as standing water and waning daylight posed a threat to drivers and others in and around the circuit.

It was therefore an early morning for the teams come Sunday, as Qualifying got underway at 07:30 local time. Conditions were better but still not ideal; rain came in waves throughout the session. A record five Red flags were waved as multiple cars spun and clattered the barriers, but ultimately it was Norris who placed his MCL38 on pole position with a set of Intermediate tyres.

Mercedes’ George Russell will start alongside his fellow Briton, while Drivers’ Standings leader Verstappen failed to make it out of Q2 as one of the many Red flags caught him out down in P12. The race will be brought forward by 90 minutes, commencing at 12:30 local time (15:30 GMT).

Norris finds himself with a golden opportunity to close the gap to Verstappen in the Championship significantly. Will he be able to capitalise?

Starting grid – a mixed up order

Variable grip levels throughout Qualifying saw several surprises up and down the starting grid. Yuki Tsunoda managed his best ever starting position with P3, while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon will also start on the second row alongside the Japanese driver.

Both Red Bulls and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes getting knocked out early were the biggest shocks near the tail end of the grid. Verstappen will start even lower than he qualified as he replaced his power unit, warranting a five-place grid penalty which drops him to P17.

Of course, several drivers damaged their cars during Qualifying and had no choice but to start from the pitlane or withdraw from the race. Alexander Albon suffered the most damage and will sit out the Grand Prix despite qualifying in seventh, while Carlos Sainz will start in the pits. Franco Colapinto in the other Williams, as well as both Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll had their cars repaired in time to line up in their respective grid slots.

Lights out

For a while the rain had stopped falling, allowing the track to dry out somewhat as the race start drew ever closer. However, weather radars showed that the heavens would once again open around a quarter of an hour into the race.

Drama even on the formation lap, as Stroll locked up his rear brakes and went spinning into Descida do Lago. The Aston Martin driver subsequently beached his AMR24 in the gravel and retired from the Grand Prix, which resulted in an aborted start.

While the drivers should have remained in their grid slots, Norris and the vast majority of the field went around the circuit for a second time, which was against the rules. He would be investigated for this potential breach of the regulations.

The now 70-lap race eventually got underway, and so did the rain. Norris once again failed to retain the lead into the first corner, as Russell snatched P1 from his compatriot. Further back, Leclerc made his way past Lawson for fifth position while Verstappen gained an impressive seven positions, culminating in a first corner overtake on Hamilton for tenth.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez spun his Red Bull on the exit of Turn 8, dropping to the foot of the field. Looking at the opposite end, Russell extended his lead over Norris to almost two seconds by the end of the second lap.

By lap five however, Norris had closed the gap to within a second of Russell in a developing battle for the lead of the Grand Prix. Verstappen continued his climb up the order, easing past Pierre Gasly into the first corner to claim P9 and making a similar move on Alonso for eighth place on the same lap.

The race develops

Drivers weaved down the straights to find wetter parts of the racetrack as their Intermediate tyres began to overheat. Furthermore, with DRS still disabled getting past slower drivers ahead was proving difficult.

Difficult for all except Verstappen who snatched seventh from Piastri on lap 10 of the race, again at Turn 1. One lap later and the Championship leader overtook Liam Lawson down the inside of Turn 8.

Oliver Bearman received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Colapinto on the opening laps. The latter got past Hamilton through the Senna Esses after the Mercedes driver took a trip through the grass on lap 11.

A four-car train materialised on lap 15, starting with Tsunoda in third and ending with Verstappen in sixth. Meanwhile, Gasly eventually got past Alonso for ninth place.

A miserable day for Hamilton got even worse as he ran wide at Juncao, dropping a position to Sainz and then Bearman a little later down to 15th by lap 20. Sainz subsequently ran wide on lap 23, dropping back behind the Mercedes.

Leclerc made a mistake at the same corner a couple of laps later, allowing Verstappen to pull alongside on the main straight although no change of position was made between the pair.

First pitstops

Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas was the first to complain about a lack of grip as the inters began to lose their tread. Most teams decided to wait until heavy rain hit to come in for fresh rubber, and the first to bite the bullet was Leclerc from P5 for another set of Intermediates on lap 25. Further down the order, Lawson spun at the first corner after contact with Piastri, dropping to ninth. Piastri later received a ten-second penalty for this.

The rain suddenly began to fall heavily, and this caught Hulkenberg out who also spun at Turn 1. This brough out the Virtual Safety Car, but not before Ocon could overtake Tsunoda for the final podium spot.

Many cars came into the pits to capitalise on the Yellow flags, including Russell and Norris in the top two positions. They both pitted for inters, while Tsunoda, Lawson and Perez decided to gamble on the full wets as visibility dropped to near zero.

Several drivers opted to stay out, including Verstappen who moved up to P2 behind Ocon. Norris had more confidence in the treacherous conditions than Russell, as the former eased past the latter on lap 30.

Soon after the racetrack was deemed too dangerous, prompting a full Safety Car to assess the situation. This was upgraded to a Red flag as Colapinto destroyed his Williams while going around Turn 13.

Race Restart

The Red flag scenario suited Verstappen, who was allowed to change onto a fresh set of tyres without losing position. He was now two positions ahead of Norris. Alpine were also massive benefactors, with Ocon now in the net lead of the Grand Prix with teammate Gasly in third.

In another twist of the tale, Hulkenberg was black-flagged for receiving outside assistance while rejoining the race after his earlier spin. This meant he was disqualified and out of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

While rain was still falling on the circuit, it had become a lot lighter, meaning the balance of power shifted once again towards the Intermediates compared to the full wets. Race Control decided to conduct a rolling start to the race, and Ocon maintained the lead into the first corner ahead of Verstappen. At the back of the order, Bearman and Guanyu Zhou went off the track.

On lap 34, Norris made a mistake through Descida do Lago, falling behind Russell who snatched fourth from the McLaren driver. At the front, Ocon extended his lead over Verstappen to over two seconds. This became three seconds by lap 36.

Bearman made yet another unforced error as he spun into the barriers through Ferradura, dropping to P16 and last of the runners.

The race was neutralised for another time as Sainz spun through Curva do Laranjinha and found the barriers, bringing out the Safety Car.

Safety Car Restart

The Safety Car peeled in at the end of lap 42 of 69. Ocon this time couldn’t keep Verstappen behind, while Norris went wide at the first corner and dropped all the way to seventh position. Alonso found the grass in the final sector, falling to last place.

Verstappen extended his advantage out front to over three seconds ahead of Ocon by lap 46. Piastri let Norris through for P6, as the latter attempted to salvage points in his Title battle with Verstappen.

Final laps

Times continued to tumble as track conditions improved, and Verstappen set a new fastest lap 1:22.453 on lap 48. Meanwhile, Norris was unable to make an impression on Leclerc in P5.

Piastri went wide at Juncao corner on lap 52, and almost lost seventh to Tsunoda but maintained the inside line through the first corner to keep position. A few laps later, Perez attempted to overtake Lawson for ninth, failed to do so then ran wide through Descida do Lago and fell behind Hamilton instead.

The race calmed down with just over ten laps remaining, as Verstappen continued to set fastest laps and stretched his lead out front to almost 20 seconds. He stayed in P1 right to the end, extending his lead over Norris to 62 points and bringing himself one step closer to a fourth consecutive Drivers’ crown. Despite a late charge from Russell, Alpine secured a double podium with Ocon ahead of fellow Frenchman Gasly.

Final race classification

Feature Image Credit: @F1 on X

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